John Baldessari
Pure Beauty
Tate Modern 13 October 2009 – 10 January 2010
Explore:
Room 2
By 1966, Baldessari had begun to use words in the same way that most artists use images, arguing that 'a word can't substitute for an image, but is equal to it'. The subject of these text-paintings is the subsidiary information typically attached to a work of art, whether through labelling, documentation, or discussion. By appropriating and literally inscribing formulaic instructions from art manuals or quotes from notable art critics onto the surface of a canvas, Baldessari drew attention to the absurdity of prevailing aesthetic attitudes. Ironically, by continuing to work on canvas, he signalled that the text-paintings are works of art, while flouting all the rules that dictate what art is.
The text-paintings offer advice, state facts, and in one case, record where and when the canvas has been exhibited. Significantly, Baldessari removed himself from the physical act of making the paintings. Someone else built and primed the canvases before a hired sign painter added the information in the simplest way possible. The content of the paintings, together with the mode of production, forces us to reconsider the role of the artist, techniques of composition, rules of perspective and choice of subject matter.
