![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOUainSPGX4tfMTBzDJysYWtgRg7iCaFIbX4xONy5zJ6uU7uGU4P82YNAIBzXmlM17sqaqMRFQ1LZYkpugdck3D_tb5i1hdGBzkBzdfMyOPVCV9Vpq4otYuB5TmRU5WVfCM0Haik-rkc/s640/John+Baldessari%252C+Everything+is+purged+from+this+painting+but+art%253B+no+ideas+have+entered+this+work%252C+1966-68.jpg) |
John Baldessari, Everything is purged...1966-68 |
John Baldessari died on 2 January 2020.
"I just stare at something and say: Why isn't that art? Why couldn't that be art? (
Finkel, 2020)
Find everything you need to know about John Baldessari -
the guy that put dots over people's faces - in
A Brief History of John Baldessari - a film narrated by Tom Waits (
he's got a great voice).
![https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU7V4GyEuXA](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwzcMrpHkH0AnX9RrujkJWZOJYgf2K1Cwsn5rFqkAurK1H3k-D_5FgLfp9U79eZF6xN_1MAdfQWMIaiuqFNDl_mwmMbEjwuSWbJKRBGeOOlp97SUjP9o1K21jhYRiADHARUc-0BYcdbQ/s640/Title.jpg) |
A Brief History of John Baldessari (dir. Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman, 2012; 5'55") Click on image to watch video. |
Some works of art by John Baldessari.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCGZSHQJORLyqaYT_p2ZebkMAaYCPzRlGehEBH8XZGIJD2pIPLCph6g72QfanZlyRUYeK91h2of0qjpA9m8GO7KGfDDo8Je6FumsdnRYHi-QG4sQfLErbds_b_iThLbh9VglBI0cAyolk/s640/John+Baldessari%252C+Pure+Beauty%252C+1966-68.jpg) |
John Baldessari, Pure Beauty, 1966-68 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJP6dIKsHrG-YNJG20pygCCEHQPHgC58ZLn02M2AYAw8H-_e5o_8aG68ua5YRO_mlj-xDaLnse1IO0Yi9RI3G2ZWOj1RIYVtBk7ROLg0Fo4JxAh4PuNzboW6p1VNGSYtLE7aCuXypkG1s/s640/John+Baldessari%252C+This+is+not+to+be+looked+at%252C+1968.jpg) |
John Baldessari, This is Not to Be Looked At, 1968 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmaLT05nu4ofg1R4NB-aBPjN861Bx12yjTFUU2bw-IWvjYPYMo9eZeu7PSP9Xmkg_PTa_CH8CDad6Q1MCvLyN_jNQy5zISY9tA_dWqdCOuQ1BpoRqrtB3esYZj-mtd9OrUG8Hsxvgbrc/s640/john_baldessari_the_pencil_story_0.jpg) |
John Baldessari, Pencil Story, 1971-2 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-unN4uq2VVVTr7G9yA4KbxnSrZHcu38XK9fehEBNSFyu_ND2mOTaNUy3tEVu0nrrwGHnMGhoxkAKP7RhVJZ3w3HlemhqhDcx7vtj9mKAVUA6HrQkVGEVlnojYcp2mbNdreok507Gp9t0/s640/John+Baldessari-I+will+not+make.jpg) |
John Baldessari, I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, 1971 (video, 13'6") |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ou-01h_BMEvPeHS6X5Y0gTzt9NISODffMx4kUm7ldJiAF55DpYXxATOvmnIrrzbeSXT6sN-F2qOjlepzfugCX1leE9GnYYl6d7SXIfTsVEXAS6WXGoXqVSyP5LUjqS11EgXA3ZVCick/s640/3+balls+2.jpg) |
John Baldessari, Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty Six Attempts), 1973 (detail) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVRLmwzDTiAAWvpia870P8Ebqwwg3ivc72QJ7gvVT2wvFzghiW1fwpCTCBmsvt88Gj8DCaboxndRO4YVPEyXIemu3KwS1OOm7r6YMzgpTh5ezP7nihRenlmeATJ1yTGGsngblleAC1hE/s640/Exterior+views+2.jpg) |
John Baldessari, Exterior Views, 1986 (detail) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFngci8InYiMLFwel_S0rjIwqyRoSb-BVpTc4V6a3nqHkFmb4s0Gjf_bizhgzOdVy0MwH7eteMaT0LgTlbKFi0ieU0KUMs28Ia0tbcPxEyITfzHTgPbkfleE7JkpKN2TvNcTXGIU9Iws/s640/Ribbon+Cutting.jpg) |
John Baldessari, Cutting Ribbon, Man in Wheelchair, Painting, 1988 (detail) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIQOkjUEx_nreSjWy_gm-BUTohJJFcE0c2d1evJ8MWX-C_VFy6gziBjU8bn0wqpb33VDK_XOwo-_6oqgKTokQvel035N82qmH37Dv_UwU1Y_Ha-FacnLMEYYljFhAIGY_3fp3RrQrIug/s640/ViolentSpaceSeriesTwoStaresMakingaPointbut_front.png) |
John Baldessari, Violent Space Series: Two Stares Making a Point but Blocked by a Plane (for Malevich), 1976 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixa2YbTvks-zcdR6CjecHt_TUmNoN0Ly4YxUCSNuIMHyFWdEj84PH4vIpef9nQBEP4OyAmvoX3fHrUB5AJ9n8-8lR5-LeAzWvorujdjDtPhWOq6KhEIx6uEMWjBqB4N_0qMUs8OsmGdsQ/s640/Learn-To-Dream.jpeg) |
John Baldessari, Learn to Dream, 2011 |
Some obituaries and articles.
Oliver Basciano (2020) "
John Baldessari: the giant prankster who torched artworld pretension",
The Guardian
Sarah Cascone (2020) "
The Wry Teacher...",
artnet news
Jori Finkel (2020) "
John Baldessari, Who Gave Conceptual Art a Dose of Wit...",
New York Times
Alex Greenberger (2020)
"
John Baldessari, Fearless Conceptual Artist...",
ARTnews
Anny Shaw (2020) "
'Godfather of Conceptual Art'...",
The Art Newspaper
Zachary Small (2020) "
Friends and Former Students of the Late John Baldessari look Back...",
artnet news