Baldessari: Goya Series

Museum of Modern Art: And from the Goya Series, by John Baldessari, 1997. n! "et and
syntheti# $olymer $aint on #an%as, &' () * &+) ,19+.- * 1-..( #m/. Mr. and Mrs. 0homas 1. 2ee
3und. 4 John Baldessari.
0he MoMA5s 6allery label te*t for this item ,.++7/:
A banal ima6e of a sin6le $a$er#li$ #a$tioned 7ith the e8ually unremar!able 7ord A9:
mi6ht initially su66est a strai6htfor7ard $arallel bet7een the 6rammati#al #on"un#tion, 7hi#h
lin!s ideas, and the de%i#e that affi*es $ie#es of $a$er to6ether. 1o7e%er, in this #ase the
ubi8uitous 7ord is ta!en from 3ran#is#o de Goya5s s#athin6 titles for his :isasters of ;ar
$rint series ,be6un in 1<1+/, de#ryin6 the horrors of %iolen#e. =ther ima6e>7ord $airin6s in
Baldessari5s Goya series in#lude a !nife a##om$anied by the $hrase A9 A?M A9: A 2@G
and an em$ty bo7l 7ith the terse de#laration, 01S S BA:. Baldessari is less interested
in lo6i#al relationshi$s bet7een ima6e and te*t than 7ith 7hat #on#e$tual lea$s $eo$le #an
ma!e from one bit of information to another and ho7 they #an fill the s$a#e.
Art #riti# Aeter S#h"eldahl 7rote an interestin6 re%ie7 of Baldessari5s Goya Series a year
after it 7as first e*hibited at the B7th Ceni#e Biennial, in 1997. n his re%ie7, he 7as
es$e#ially interested in the #yni#ism both Goya and Baldessari seem to e*hibit throu6h their
res$e#ti%e art7or!, es$e#ially 7hen it #omes to the relation bet7een lan6ua6e and reality,
ima6es and 7ords:
0he semioti# 6ame of this 7or! is so sim$le that you 6et it at a 6lan#e: 7ords and $i#tures
brou6ht to la#oni#, e%er so sli6htly hei6htened, ele6ant e8ui$oise. 0he #han6e run6 on Goya
,himself a neoDEyni#, by the 7ay, if e%er there 7as one/ mildly startles. ;ords that, in the
S$aniard5s et#hin6s, #oldly understate the #ontent of horrifi# %isions be#ome the hotter
elements in Baldessari5s e8uations. Baldessari #ounters the natural $riority that ima6es ha%e
o%er te*t in our e*$erien#e. nstead of loo!in6 first and readin6 se#ond, 7e do both $retty
mu#h at on#e. A buFFin6 standoff may o##ur bet7een the %isual and the %erbal #enters of
one5s brain.
0he effe#t is stron6 and #lear, bra#in6 the eye and mind. t feels moral, someho7, li!e a
re#all to first $rin#i$les. 0he dominant tone is Goya5s, hauntin6ly. 2on6 a6o and far a7ay,
there e*isted a %aliant s$irit that !ne7 the thin6 it loo!ed at and !ne7, as 7ell, that 7ords
#ould not be6in to e*$ress the thin6. Goya used lan6ua6e to e*$ose the inade8ua#y of
lan6ua6e. Baldessari borro7s Goya5s lan6ua6e G ea#h item of it as obdurate as a ro#! thro7n
throu6h a #losed 7indo7 G to do the same for ima6ery. 0he result is artful antiDart.
,Artnet: ;onderful Eyni#ism: John Baldessari by Aeter S#h"eldahl, first $ublished inCilla6e
Coi#e, 3ebruary 1+, 199<, $. 1.1/
Belo7 or more $aintin6s from Baldessari5s Goya Series alon6 7ith $rints from Goya5s0he
:isasters of ;ar series ,first $ublished in 1<&(/.
0he same else7here from the HGoya Series5 by John Baldessari, 1997, n!"et $rint and hand
letterin6 on #an%as, 7- * &+ in.
A heroi# featI ;ith dead menI ,Grande haFanaI Eon muertosI/ by Goya, Alate (9 of H0he
:isasters of ;ar5, et#hed about 1<1+ > 1<.+ ,$ublished 1<&(/.
=ne #annot bear to loo! at it from the HGoya Series5 by John Baldessari, 1997, in!D"et $rint,
si6n $ainter5s la#8uer, a#ryli# and 6esso on #an%as, 7- * &+ in#hes
=ne Ean5t 2oo! ,9o se $uede mirar/ by Goya, Alate .& of H0he :isasters of ;ar5, et#hed
about 1<1+ > 1<.+ ,$ublished 1<&(/.
n an inter%ie7 he did 7ith art.1 ba#! in .++<, Baldessari #ommented on his relationshi$ to
lan6ua6e and 7ords:
A?0.1: 5m #urious about your lon6time interest in lan6ua6e. ;ere you al7ays fas#inated by
7ordsJ
BA2:@SSA?: t mi6ht ha%e started ba#! 7hen 7as $aintin6, this idea, 7hi#h 7asn5t uni8ue
to me, that lan6ua6e #ould also be art. ne%er 8uite understood #ate6ories. ;ords are a 7ay
7e #ommuni#ate, ima6es are a 7ay 7e #ommuni#ate, and #ouldn5t fi6ure out 7hy they had to
be in different bas!ets. 7as 6ettin6 tired of hearin6 the #om$laint, My !id #ould do this,
and ;e don5t 6et it. ;hat5s modern artJ Blah, blah, blah. And 7ondered 7hat 7ould really
ha$$en if you 6a%e $eo$le 7hat they 7anted, somethin6 they al7ays loo! at. 0hey loo! at
ma6aFines and ne7s$a$ers, so 7hy not 6i%e them $hoto6ra$hs or te*tJ 0hat 7as the
moti%ation and 7hen mo%ed in that dire#tion, thin!in6 about lan6ua6eGand don5t !no7
e*a#tly ho7 this ha$$enedGit seemed to me that a 7ord #ould be an ima6e or an ima6e #ould
be a 7ord. 0hey #ould be inter#han6eable. #ouldn5t in my mind $rioritiFe one o%er the other.
,art.1: John Baldessari: Just an Artist inter%ie7 7ith Susan Sollins, July .++</
n .+1+, 0he 9e7 Kor!er ran a <D$a6e $rofile of Baldessari. t5s remains a %ery 6ood
introdu#tion both to his art and to his life. 1ere5s an e*#er$t:
Baldessari #onstru#ts a %i%id, s!e7ed 7orld in 7hi#h the %ie7er #an either $arti#i$ate or
smile and 7al! a7ayLa 7orld 7hose #om$li#ity 7ith the one 7e !no7 be#omes in#reasin6ly
$er$le*ed as the e*hibition unfold. Baldessari on#e said, re6ardin6 his 7or! from the late
si*ties, So mu#h of my thin!in6 at that time 7as tryin6 to fi6ure out "ust 7hat thou6ht art
7as. And had he fi6ured it outJ as!ed him. 9ot a #lues, he said, 7ith another bo6 lau6h.
9otMaM#lue. ,0he 9e7 Kor!er: 9o More Borin6 Art. John Baldessari5s Erusade by Eal%in
0om!ins, =#tober 1<, .+1+, $. BB/
5%e already lin!ed $re%iously to the short %ideo $ortrait A Brief 1istory of John
Baldessaridire#ted by 1enry Joost and Ariel S#hulman ,& minutes/. =ne #an also 7at#h a 1-
minutes se6ment from the fifth season of ABS5s sho7 Art in the 07entyD3irst
Eentury ,$rodu#ed byart.1/.
A mu#h ri#her introdu#tion L7ith BN; ar#hi%e foota6e from Baldessari early daysL is
$ro%ided by the .++- do#umentary film 0his not 0hat > 0he Artist John Baldessaridire#ted
by Jan S#hmidtDGarre and $rodu#ed by $arsmedia. 0he 9+ minutes %ideo is a%ailable
on Kou0ube ,see belo7O a fe7 $arts are German only, 7ithout subtitles/. 0he retail :C:
#ontains 1.+ minutes of bonus material, in#ludin6 the 197( do#umentary Kou Eall 0hat ArtJ >
Allan Pa$ro7 %isits John Baldessari, as 7ell as se%en additional inter%ie7s ,see AmaFon/.