John Baldessari (born 1931) is among the most revered and influential figures in contemporary California art. His most familiar works are compositions in which he combines and alters photographic images to disruptive, thought-provoking, and often comic effect. Some of the photographs are his own; most are appropriated images such as movie stills. Having abandoned painting to work in media more suited to the conceptual direction in which his art was moving, he made his first venture in printmaking in 1971. It was the now-famous lithograph I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art. Since that time he has embraced prints as a means of making his playful art available at relatively low cost to a wide audience, experimenting with various techniques and collaborating with print studios and publishers around the world. He lives and works in Santa Monica.
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