John Baldessari

The title of this exhibition is a reference to an engraving by Goya from the Disasters of War series, and raises two main issues in the work of John Baldessari (National City, 1931 – Venice, California, US, 2020): On the one hand, the representation of violence in its many facets, including previously occurring moments of tension and stress; on the other, the use of previous artistic references and the appropriation of images from other contexts or belonging to other artists – fundamental characteristics of Pop art, for which Baldessari was a reference. His influence as a teacher and artist has been acknowledged by artists such as Jenny Holzer, David Salle, Matt Mullican and Barbara Kruger.

This exhibition was divided into two parts. The introduction emphasized critical aspects of his career, where choice and decision-making were an essential part of the play between creation and perception, or the use of various ordering devices is seen as an original tactic for creating meaning, as in the piece in the IVAM’s collection, A Movie: Directional Piece where People are Walking (1972-1973). In the second part of the exhibition, Baldessari shows a preference for appropriated film scenes whose main content is violence, hence the specific reference to Goya’s etchings. His approach is obviously influenced by the mass media, and focuses on the importance of scientific and popular imagery as societal story-telling. Other decisive aspects of his works are the importance of the subliminal side of images and the variety of interpretations that can be made of them; the unforeseen, and play, seen as forces for creativity and meaning; and naturally, catastrophe and sex as primary themes that interrelate with many other secondary issues.