John Baldessari Throwing Three Balls In The Air
A recent exhibition in Milan reveals a new work by American artist John Baldessari: Throwing Three Balls in the Air. The exhibition features a series of photographs that explore Baldessari’s fascination with the physics of gravity and kinetics. Using an arm as a sphere, he threw three balls in the air, hoping to catch all three in one shot. Unlike Pollock, who orbited canvases with gravitas, Baldessari sent the miniature planets skyward with a playful toss.
The project is a study of physics and the human body. It is an experimental approach to conceptual art and is reminiscent of the experimentation of quantum mechanics. The artist, who lives in Brooklyn, made a series of paintings that depict his experiments. These works are known as “Triple Balls”, and have received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Aside from his work, Baldessari has participated in over two thousand group exhibitions and 200 solo exhibitions.
Baldessari began throwing three balls in the air at once in the late 1950s and became famous in the early ’60s. His first solo exhibition was held in Italy in 1973. In the book titled Throwing Three Balls in the Air, he documented his 36 attempts – roughly equal to the number of exposures on a typical 35mm film. These pictures are a testament to the unbridgeable gap between artistic conception and execution.
His most famous work is Throwing Three Balls in the Air, a series of photographs that capture the impossible moment. In the photographs, a man throws three balls in the air, while a woman catches two of them and paints them with brightly colored circles. The photographer, Carol Wixom, then takes photos of his every attempt. The result is a stunning photographic record of the unbridgeable gap between idea and execution.
John Baldessari’s Throwing Three Balls in the Air is a book of his photographs and other documents that describe his process. The photographer, Carol Wixom, took the photographs and filmed each attempt, making the images a unique document of the artist’s life. With these photographs, the artist demonstrates the unbridgeable gap between artistic idea and artistic execution.
John Baldessari’s Throwing Three Balls in the Air is a book of 36 color-printed photographs by the American artist. The photos beautifully visualize Baldessari’s experimental approach to conceptual art. After the exhibition, the book’s publication was published and sold worldwide. It is available on Amazon and at many galleries. Aside from the book, the photographs are also available online.
