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John Baldessari
Perrier (With Figures), 1990

Artwork Info

Artwork title
Perrier (With Figures)
Artist name
John Baldessari
Date created
1990
Classification
collage
Medium
photographs with oil tint and vinyl paint mounted on Masonite
Dimensions
87 1/4 in. × 72 1/2 in. (221.62 cm × 184.15 cm)
Credit
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Photo credit
Los Angeles
Copyright
© Estate of John Baldessari
Permanent URL
https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/FC.388.A-C
Artwork status
Not on view at this time.

The works of John Baldessari challenge conventional modes of visual communication. His practice of eliminating visually relevant information, as in his paintings where colorful dots are strategically placed over human faces, invites new ways of looking at images.

A quick history of John Baldessari: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU7V4GyEuXA
Baldessari on photography and truth: https://youtu.be/UCnzsLhER7g
Hear Baldessari sing lines from a Sol LeWitt exhibition catalog: https://youtu.be/-LleBVS5_ho
Related Playlist-Ways of Seeing: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6LAgXLAqTH-MnQsggiWtvKSaibcJEyMF

Audio Stories

What are we seeing—and not seeing—in this work?

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transcripts

SFX: Upbeat 1980’s music – synthesized

 

NARRATOR:

With the faces gone, what stands out to you? That feathered hair? The designer jacket? That casual sweater thrown over the shoulder?

 

Hello, 1980’s. If you lived through that era, or even just watched re-runs from back then, it’s easy to spot the things here that advertise the “Good Life.” Like that curvy glass bottle of French mineral water on the left.

 

SFX: The hiss of a Perrier cap cracking open, pouring into a glass.

 

NARRATOR:

Baldessari named this painting “Perrier.” It’s funny to remember that not so long ago, buying bottled water seemed like an absurdly snobbish thing to do. Paying for something you could get for free from your tap? But Perrier wasn’t about thirst. It was about lifestyle.

 

SFX: Glamorous harp

 

NARRATOR: And purity.

 

SFX: Newscast theme

 

NARRATOR:

For a time, the Food and Drug Administration even used Perrier as a standard in the tests of other water supplies.

 

NEWSCASTER:

Good evening. Today, the company that made bottled mineral water chic announced it is voluntarily recalling Perrier from store shelves. This comes after the chemical benzene was found in a small sample of bottles in North Carolina. Commenting on the recall, company President Ronald V. Davis said that while there is no significant health risk to the public, the company is committed to public safety.

 

NARRATOR (coming in over newscast):

That is, until officials found trace amounts of a carcinogen in Perrier’s bottled water. It was a stunning reversal of everyone’s perception. The media dubbed it “The Benzene Crisis of 1990.”

 

SFX: The news theme fades

 

Benzene was an invisible danger hidden in a pretty package. So what else aren’t we seeing here?

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Other Works by John Baldessari

See other works by John Baldessari

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