John Baldessari: Pure Beauty

BCAM, Level 2
June 27, 2010–September 12, 2010
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John Baldessari is one of the most influential American artists working today. This long overdue retrospective will feature more than 150 works spanning the artist's career from 1962 to the present day, and include works on canvas, photography, videos and artist's books. Baldessari's text and image paintings from the mid-1960s are widely recognized as among the earliest examples of Conceptual Art, while his 1980s photo compositions derived from film stills rank as pivotal to the development of appropriation art and other practices that address the social and cultural impact of mass culture. Throughout and continuing today, Baldessari's interest in language, both written and visual, raises questions about the nature of communication. The exhibition is curated by LACMA's Leslie Jones, Prints and Drawings, with Jessica Morgan, Contemporary Art, at Tate Modern. It will also feature a special installation conceived just for this retrospective.

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This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Tate Modern, London. Additional support for the Los Angeles presentation was provided by LACMA's Wallis Annenberg Director's Endowment Fund and the Jamie and Steve Tisch Foundation Inc. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. In-kind media support provided by KCRW.

Tetrad Series: What Was Seen, 1999, digital print and acrylic on canvas, 94 x 94 in. (238.8 x 238.8 cm) overall, collection of Craig Robins, Miami, © 2009 John Baldessari, photo courtesy of Baldessari Studio.

The Director's Series: Michael Govan and John Baldessari

LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan in conversation with renowned contemporary artist John Baldessari. Michael Govan and John Baldessari talk about the artist's collaborations with LACMA, including his acclaimed design for the Magritte and Contemporary Art installation, LACMA's new logo, the large-scale banners seen along Wilshire Boulevard, and next summer's retrospective of his work.

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