Life's Balance (With Money)

Artist John Baldessari (American, 1931 - 2020)

Date1989-1990

MediumPhotogravure with acquatint

DimensionsImage: 48 3/4 × 40 5/8 inches (123.83 × 103.19 cm)
Sheet: 51 1/4 × 43 inches (130.18 × 109.22 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.5006

SignedSigned on sheet recto, lower right, in pencil: "BALDESSARI"

InscribedOn sheet recto, lower left, in pencil: "23/45"

Markingsnone

Edition/State/Proofed. 23/45

On View

Not on view

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DescriptionThree images presented on a single mount. The top image is of women with green dollar bills scattered in the air. The lower left image is of a pair of legs balancing on a tiered platform above a cylinder. The lower right image is of a man holding a yellow ring in his left hand while balancing plates on his head, finger, and a rod from his mouth.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

Order and chaos, reason and decadence, meaning and nonsense. John Baldessari plays with these tensions, which run through American consumer culture and entertainment. In conceptual works such as this piece, Baldessari appropriates photographic images from popular culture. He was particularly fascinated by the ambiguities of old film stills. Here, he recontextualizes them in new compositions that suggest fractured, absurdist narratives.

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