In the early 1970s, John Baldessari was inspired to make a series of fragmented narratives by avant-garde music, the work of Nam June Paik and other Fluxus artists. Baldessari's 1973 work is a combination of seven index cards and 113 color photographs that capture red balls thrown into the air. The photographs are arranged so that the balls in each picture are aligned similar to an imaginary line of musical notes.
Songs: 1. Sky/Sea/Sand, 2. Sky/Ice Plant/Grass
- Provenance
- Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, to 27 October 2005
- Gift of The Glenstone Foundation, Mitchell P. Rales, Founder, in honor of Ned Rifkin's tenure as Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (2002-2005), 2005
- Exhibition History
- HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Ways of Seeing: John Baldessari Explores the Collection," 26 July 2006-23 September 2007, no cat.
- KUNSTMUSEUM BONN, Germany. "John Baldessari: Music," 12 May-29 July 2007.
- ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO. "John Baldessari: Music," 12 June-29 August 2010.
- Data Source
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Artist
- John Baldessari, American, b. National City, California, 1931–2020
- Date
- 1973
- Credit Line
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of The Glenstone Foundation, Mitchell P. Rales, Founder, in honor of Ned Rifkin's tenure as Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (2002-2005), 2005
- Medium
- Color photographs, colored pencil, index cards with graphite and typewritten text, and photocopy of typewritten sheet
- Dimensions
- overall dimesions variable photographs: 3 1/2 × 5 in. (8.9 × 12.7 cm) each index cards: 3 × 5 in. (7.6 × 12.7 cm) each typewritten sheet: 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)
- Type
- Installation
