John Baldessari Biography
John Baldessari was an American conceptual artist who was born as John Anthony Baldessari, known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and served in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a painter, Baldessari started to incorporate texts and photography into his canvases in the mid-1960s. In the year 1970, he started serving in printmaking, film, video, installation, sculpture, and photography.
He created thousands of works that demonstrate—and, in many cases, combine—the narrative potential of images as well as the associative power of language within the boundaries of the work of art. His art has been featured in over 200 solo exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe. His work influenced that of Cindy Sherman, David Salle, Annette Lemieux, and Barbara Kruger.
John Baldessari Death
Baldessari died on 2 January 2020 in Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States. He died at an age of 88 years old.
John Baldessari Age
Baldessari was 88 years old as of his death, he was born on 17 June 1931 in National City, California. He celebrates his birthday on June 17 every and his birth sign is Gemini.
John Baldessari Height
Baldessari stood at a height of 6 foot 7 inches when he was alive.
John Baldessari Education
Baldessari studied at Sweetwater High School and San Diego State College. In the year 1959, Baldessari started teaching art in the San Diego school system. He taught for nearly three decades, in schools and junior colleges and community colleges, and eventually at the university level.
When the University of California decided to open up a campus in San Diego, the new head of the Visual Art Department, Paul Brach, asked Baldessari to be part of the originating faculty in the year 1968.
John Baldessari Family
Baldessari was born and raised in National City, California to Hedvig Jensen, a Danish nurse, and Antonio Baldessari, an Italian salvage dealer. He and his elder sister were raised in Southern California.
John Baldessari Wife
Baldessari was married to Montessorian teacher Carol Ann Wixom. The couple has two children known as Annamarie Baldessari and Tony Baldessari.
John Baldessari Net Worth
Baldessari has an estimated net worth of $76 million dollars as of 2021. This includes his assets, money, and income. His primary source of income is his career as a conceptual artist. Through his various sources of income, Baldessari has been able to accumulate a good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
John Baldessari Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Baldessari.
John Baldessari Wiki
- Full Names: John Anthony Baldessari
- Popular As: Conceptual artist
- Gender: Male
- Occupation / Profession: Artist
- Nationality: American
- Race / Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Not Known
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
John Baldessari Birthday
- Age / How Old?: 88 years old as of his death
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Date of Birth: 17 June 1931
- Place of Birth: National City, California.
- Birthday: June 17
- Date of death: 2 January 2020
John Baldessari Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): Hedvig Jensen
- Mother: Antonio Baldessari
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Betty Sokol
- Marital Status: Married
- Wife/Spouse: Married to Carol Ann Wixom
- Dating / Girlfriend: Not Applicable
- Children: Sons (Tony Baldessari) Daughter(s) (Annamarie Baldessari)
John Baldessari Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth: $76 million dollars
- Salary: Under Review
- Source of Income: Conceptual artist
John Baldessari Art
In the year 1959, Baldessari started teaching art in the San Diego school system. He taught for nearly three decades, in schools and junior colleges as well as community colleges, and eventually at the university level. When the University of California decided to open up a campus in San Diego, the new head of the Visual Art Department, Paul Brach, asked Baldessari to be part of the originating faculty in the year 1968.
At UCSD he shared an office along with David Antin. In the year 1970, Baldessari moved to Santa Monica, where he met many artists and writers and started teaching at CalArts. His first classes included David Salle, Jack Goldstein, Mike Kelley, Ken Feingold, Tony Oursler, James Welling, Barbara Bloom, Matt Mullican, and Troy Brauntuch. While at CalArts, Baldessari taught “the infamous Post Studio class”, which he intended to “indicate people not daubing away at canvases or chipping away at the stone, that there might be some other kind of class situation.”
The class, which operated outside of medium-specificity, was influential in informing the context for addressing a student’s art practice at CalArts as well as established a tradition of conceptual critique at CalArts that was carried on by artists such as Michael Asher. He quit teaching at CalArts in the year 1986, moving on to teach at UCLA, which he continued until the year 2008. At UCLA, his students included Elliott Hundley and Analia Saban.
John Baldessari Prints
Baldessari started making prints in the early 1970s as well as continued to produce editions. He created his first print – I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art in 1971 as an edition to raise funds for the Nova Scotia College of Art as well as Design, Halifax. The lithograph was created in conjunction with the now renowned exhibition for which at Baldessari’s request students endlessly wrote the phrase “I will not make any more boring art” on the gallery walls.
The artist has since served internationally with premier publishers including Arion Press of San Francisco, Brook Alexander Editions of New York, Cirrus Editions of Los Angeles, Crown Point Press of San Francisco, Edition Jacob Samuel of Santa Monica, Gemini G.E.L. of Los Angeles, Mixografia of Los Angeles, Multiples, Multi Editions of Los Angeles, Inc. of New York, and Peter Blum Editions of New York.
His year 1988 prints, The Fallen Easel as well as Object (with Flaw), represented a major shift in Baldessari’s approach to presentation, allowing a more complex relationship between his found imagery. In both prints, Baldessari expertly contrasts unrelated photographs to suggest a mysterious and/or ominous undercurrent. In the 1990s Baldessari started working along with Mixografia Workshop to create three-dimensional prints utilizing their unique process of printing from metal molds.
Baldessari’s interest in dimensionality has carried over to recent editions from Gemini G.E.L., including the Person with Guitar series in the year 2005 as well as the print series Noses & Ears, Etc. (2006–2007) in which screen-printed images are constructed in three layers on Sintra with hand painting.
A 2007 publication from Gemini is God Nose, a cast aluminum piece that is designed to hang from the ceiling. Baldessari also contributed to the year 2008 Artists for Obama portfolio, a set of prints in a limited edition of 150 published by Gemini G.E.L.
John Baldessari Dots
A prevailing motif in Baldessari’s work from the mid-1980s onward are circular adhesive dots covering up the faces of photographed and painted portraits. The artist himself suspects that, despite the broad array of approaches he’s taken over the course of his career, he will be best remembered as “the guy who puts dots over people’s faces.”
John Baldessari Photography
Baldessari started to incorporate texts and photography into his canvases in the mid-1960s. In the year 1970, he started serving in printmaking, film, video, installation, sculpture, and photography.
John Baldessari Books
- John Baldessari 1981
- More Than You Wanted to Know About Baldessari 2013
- Baldessari: A Print Retrospective from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation 2010
- Ingres and Other Parables 1972
- Baldessari Catalogue Raisonne: Volume Six: 2011-2019
- Close-cropped Tales 1981
- The Telephone Book: (with Pearls) 1988
- Yours in Food, Baldessari 2004
- John Baldessari: National City 1996
- Learning to Read with John Baldessari 2017
- More Than You Wanted to Know About John Baldessari: 1957-1974 2013
- The Metaphor Problem: Again 1999
- Baldessari: Music 2007
- Prima Facie: Marilyn’s Dress: a Poem (in Four Parts) 2006
- Baldessari: noses & ears, etc. (part four) 2009
- Baldessari: Somewhere Between Almost Right and Not Quite (With Orange) 2004
- Miracle Chips ®: Guaranteed Fresh 2009
- The Städel Paintings 2015
- John Baldessari, Koen Van Den Broek: This is an example of that 2008
- John Baldessari, Barbara Bloom 2011
- 100 Artists See God 2004
- John Baldessari: Raised Eyebrows 2008
- Again the Metaphor Problem and Other Engaged Critical Discourses about Art: A Conversation between John
- Baldessari, Liam Gillick, and Lawrence Weiner, moderated by Beatrix Ruf 2006
- L.A. Pop in the Sixties 1989
- Discourses: Conversations in Postmodern Art and Culture John Baldessari Speaks with Analia Saban 2009
- Collaboration John Baldessari, Cindy Sherman 1991
- John Baldessari: brick bldg, LG windows W/Xlent views, partially furnished, renowned architect: Museum
- Haus Lange, Krefeld 2009
- John Baldessari: Noses & Ears, Etc. Part three 2006
- John Baldessari: Four Short Films 1972-1973 2014
- John Baldessari: Beethoven’s Trumpet: in One Ear & Out the Same Ear 2007
- Funky lessons 2005
- Bow Down 2002
- I SAW IT: JOHN BALDESSARI AND GOYA 1999
- A Walk to Remember: John Baldessari … Eric Wesley 2006
- Brice Marden 1986
- Baldessari – RMS W VU: Wallpaper, Lamps, and Plants. (new) 1998
- A Six Pack for John Baldessari from Glenn O’Brien 1995
- Departures 2000 Richard Allen Morris: retrospective 1958-2004
- Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, [October 24, 2004 – January 23, 2005
- Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (May 5 – August 21, 2005) 2004
John Baldessari Quotes
- I go back and forth between wanting to be abundantly simple and maddeningly complex.
- When I went to art school, I was just having fun. I realized that was the last chance I had, and then I would have to get a job.
- It’s a human desire to be understood. And we always feel we’re not understood.
- I guess I get bored easily and thank God. I don’t want all my life to pound only the same key, although some artists do it very effectively. I’m not trying to denigrate anybody.
- That word ‘funny’ always makes me feel uncomfortable. Because if I were trying to be funny, I would be something like Bill Wegman – he really tries to be funny. I don’t try to be funny. It’s just that I feel the world is a little bit absurd and off-kilter, and I’m sort of reporting.
- I could never figure out why photography and art had separate histories. So I decided to explore both.
Frequently Asked Questions About John Baldessari
Who is John Baldessari?
Baldessari was an American conceptual artist who was born as John Anthony Baldessari, known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and served in Santa Monica and Venice, California.
How old is John Baldessari?
Baldessari is an American national born on 17 June 1931 in National City, California.
How tall is Baldessari?
Baldessari stood at a height of 6 feet 7 inches.
Is John Baldessari married?
Yes, Baldessari is married to Carol Ann Wixom. Together they have two children.
How much is John Baldessari worth?
Baldessari has an approximate net worth of $76 million dollars. This amount has been accrued from his leading roles in the artist industry.
Is Baldessari dead or alive?
Baldessari is dead, he passed away on 2 January 2020 in Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States.