In 1970, the American artist John Baldessari cremated every painting he had made between 1953 and 1966, and promised not to make any more boring art. In the ensuing years, he has created countless works across a range of media; his art has travelled the world, and he has been hailed as a surrealist for the digital age. But who is John Baldessari, really? Narrated by the singer-songwriter Tom Waits, and overflowing with grand ideas and amusing footnotes, this film is a glimpse into the life of an artistic giant.
Everything you need to know about John Baldessari – godfather of conceptual art
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Producers: Mandy Yaeger, Erin Wright
30 May 2014
videoArt
An ageing artist’s unguarded thoughts on what it takes to be great – and why he lacks it
12 minutes
videoArt
Radical doodles – how ‘exquisite corpse’ games embodied the Surrealist movement
15 minutes
videoHome
How an artist transformed a dilapidated hunting lodge into a house made of dreams
8 minutes
videoDesign and fashion
Rustic automata – a world built out of spare parts powered by solar energy
9 minutes
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What happens when an artist doesn’t give up the day job?
6 minutes
videoArt
How a self-taught autistic artist mines creativity from life’s endless variations
11 minutes
videoArt
How the ‘Master of Black’ uses non-colour to manipulate light in his artwork
4 minutes
videoSubcultures
Bad puns, regrettable costumes, and other joys of collecting kitschy album art
13 minutes
videoMental health
Artistic genius and fragility intersect in this surreal, Oscar®-winning animation
14 minutes