John Baldessari is one of America's best-known conceptual artists, noted for pieces that pushed the boundaries of art, language, and the idea of the image. His 1971 work, I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, commissioned by the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Canada, is perhaps his most famous; it was executed long-distance, for the cost of a postage stamp. Sierra Bellows, who wrote about the artist for our Winter 2021 issue, joins us on the podcast to discuss this seminal work as “an emblem of the Covid era”—particularly poignant given that Baldessari died in January 2020, just before the pandemic began.

Go beyond the episode:

• Read Sierra Bellow’s essay, “Long-Distance Punishment,” from our Winter 2021 issue
• Watch John Baldessari’s 1971 video edition of the piece and the 2012 short film A Brief Introduction to John Baldessari
• View more of Baldessari’s works on his website, or at MOMA
• Read Calvin Tomkins’s 2010 New Yorker profile of the artist

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