“Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of 36 Attempts)”
1973
Two enthusiastic, three-dimensional thumbs-up for the Baldessari show currently on display at San Francisco's Legion of Honor (through November 8, 2009). Composed of over 100 prints from his "post-painting" period, the exhibit provides a puzzling and colorful experience. Baldessari's imagery and ideas generate a stark sense of contrast as one walks through the basement galleries beneath the Legion's exquisite vaults. The upstairs chambers, lined chronologically with old masterworks, become stoic showrooms to the L.A. guru's mischievous visual laboratory below. What results is a clever and thoroughly satisfying curatorial provocation that enhances both ends of an art historical spectrum.
What a beautiful summary. Having seen the show myself I couldn't have described it any better. Cheers.
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