John Baldessari
Arms & Legs (Specif. Elbows & Knees), etc.: Arm (with Bottle)
Arms & Legs (Specif. Elbows & Knees), etc.: Arm (with Bottle) belongs to John Baldessari’s most recent series of paintings in which the artist brings together photographic, painted, and three-dimensional elements, to juxtapose unlikely body fragments such as noses and ears, elbows and knees, or eyebrows and foreheads. Humorously playing with the legacy of Surrealism, these uncanny binary arrangements set up the rest of the body as an interstitial space and affirm the subjective nature of representation.
John Baldessari is one of the most influential contemporary artists by virtue of his own conceptual practice and as teacher at CalArts, where he founded the “post-studio” movement in 1971. Baldessari’s work has assumed various forms for more than three decades, including photography, painting, conceptual gestures, video, books, prints, objects, and installations.