Teaching a Plant the Alphabet

John Baldessari, Teaching a Plant the Alphabet, 1972, single-channel video, black and white, sound; 18:40 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.7, © 1972 John Baldessari. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
John Baldessari, Teaching a Plant the Alphabet, 1972, single-channel video, black and white, sound; 18:40 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.7, © 1972 John Baldessari. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY

Artwork Details

Title
Teaching a Plant the Alphabet
Artist
Date
1972
Location
Not on view
Copyright
© 1972 John Baldessari. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company
Mediums
Mediums Description
single-channel video, black and white, sound; 18:40 minutes
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — foliage
  • Object — letter
Object Number
2007.33.7
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2007.33.7

Artwork Description

One of John Baldessari’s primary interests as a conceptual artist is to explore how images acquire meaning, and therefore to probe the boundaries of how we define art. In Teaching a Plant the Alphabet, the artist patiently gives an elementary lesson in the English alphabet to a potted banana plant. The absurdist exercise, with its futile, monotonous repetition and deadpan delivery, confronts our expectations of what art is supposed to look like. This video is also Baldessari’s response to the popularity of the academic disciplines of linguistics and semiotics that influenced many conceptual artists during the 1970s.


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Works by this artist (6 items)

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Karl Bitter, Diana, 1909, tinted plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Walker Hancock, 2000.20.2
Diana
Artist
Date1909
tinted plaster
On view
Karl Bitter, (Model for Prehn Memorial, Passaic, New Jersey), ca. 1911-1912, painted plaster relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Karl H. Gruppe, 1972.57.2
(Model for Prehn Memorial, Passaic, New Jersey)
Artist
Dateca. 1911-1912
painted plaster relief
Not on view
Karl Bitter, (Model for Prehn Memorial, Passaic, New Jersey), ca. 1911-1912, painted plaster relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Karl H. Gruppe, 1972.57.1
(Model for Prehn Memorial, Passaic, New Jersey)
Artist
Dateca. 1911-1912
painted plaster relief
Not on view
Karl Bitter, Untitled (seated female nude), 1897, pen and ink on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eli Wilner and Co., Inc., 1994.31
Untitled (seated female nude)
Artist
Date1897
pen and ink on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Paul Manship, August Jaccaci, 1930, plaster relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1965.16.42
August Jaccaci
Artist
Date1930
plaster relief
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Anthony de Francisci, World's Fair Medal (reverse), 1964, plaster plaque, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Anthony de Francisci, 1966.51.8
World’s Fair Medal (reverse)
Artist
Date1964
plaster plaque
Not on view
Anthony de Francisci, Science Medal Award, 1951, plaster mold/cast, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Anthony de Francisci, 1966.51.21
Science Medal Award
Artist
Date1951
plaster mold/cast
Not on view
William Zorach, Fidelity, ca. 1950, cast plaster relief, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1971.449.22
Fidelity
Artist
Dateca. 1950
cast plaster relief
Not on view