Today – 17th June - is the birthday of American conceptual artist John Baldessari (1931-2020). It is also the birthday of graphic artist MC Escher (1898-1972).
I’ve blogged about Escher before & you all know him already but Baldessari has never made an appearance & isn’t well-known to me. Baldessari used existing photographs to create collages, sometimes mixing media & using text.
In a failed bid to find any common ground between these artists other than their date of birth, I at least found titles of works that had a similarity…albeit with very different concepts. That said, there are comparisons to be made in the composition, the overall black & white as well as the eye being drawn horizontally across both images, helped along with the patterning. Escher’s work is a woodcut & Baldessari’s piece a digital photographic print with acrylic on board.
MC Escher, Day & Night (1938)
John Baldessari, Night & Day You Are the One (Magenta/Orange), 2002
A most auspicious date then. Happy Birthday, gentlemen!
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