John Baldessari Explains Unusual Framing of His Work
- Legion of Honor
The contemporary artist John Baldessari in conversation with Bay Area writer and curator Constance Lewallen.John Baldessari, born 1931 in National City, California, has been teaching art and making art since the 1950s after receiving his BA and MA from San Diego State College (now San Diego State University). He taught at California Institute of the Arts from its founding in 1970 to 1988, and has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, since 1996. He lives in Los Angeles and is often credited with helping to make that city an internationally recognized center of contemporary art.In 1997 Baldessari received the California Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts, followed in 2005 by the Lifetime Achievement Award from Americans for the Arts. As part of the 53rd International Venice Biennale 2009 in June, Baldessari was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.