Walking Forward-Running Past

John Baldessari, Walking Forward-Running Past, 1971, single-channel video, black and white, sound; 12:45 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.8, © 1971 John Baldessari. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY

Artwork Details

Title: Walking Forward-Running Past
Artist: John Baldessari
Date: 1971
Location: Not on view
Copyright: © 1971 John Baldessari. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Credit Line: Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company
Mediums: video
Mediums Description: single-channel video, black and white, sound; 12:45 minutes
Classifications: Media Arts
Subjects: Figure male
Recreation — sport and play — track & field
Object Number: 2007.33.8
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2007.33.8

Artwork Description

In this single-channel video, John Baldessari examines the chronological relationship between still images and motion pictures. The artist constructs a purposefully crude moving image from still pictures of himself walking toward the camera, then running past it. By creating a video with still images, Baldessari urges viewers to question notions of sequence and cinematic time, and how we depict the past, present, and future.