John Baldessari

This chronological survey highlights Baldessari's influence not only on the general development of conceptual art but also on later generations of artists. It's the work from the '70s and '80s that best demonstrates his investigative games and processes; ten photos of the artist blowing cigar smoke to try to imitate images of clouds; another series of a finger making an aesthetic selection from one of three carrots; or shots of balls thrown in the air, displayed in horizontal alignment rather than by frame height. All are deceptively simple but revealing about how we view, order and understand the world. (HS)