John Baldessari – Belch

Belch (2015) is part of Engraving with Sounds, a late series by John Baldessari in which the artist reworked historical engravings to explore the relationship between image, language, and perception. Drawing from 18th- and 19th-century source imagery, Baldessari digitally intervenes in antiquarian scenes, introducing flat areas of color and single-word sound effects that disrupt their original narrative authority.

In Belch, a finely rendered engraving of a beached whale is punctuated by the blunt, onomatopoeic title beneath the image. The addition of bright, graphic color and the absurdity of the sound-word transforms the solemn historical illustration into a humorous yet conceptually sharp meditation on communication and meaning. As with much of Baldessari's artworks, the print invites viewers to reconsider how images are "read" and how language alters interpretation.

The Engraving with Sounds series exemplifies Baldessari's lifelong interest in stripping images of their assumed seriousness and reactivating them through minimal intervention. By pairing a single word with a borrowed image, he creates a visual non sequitur that oscillates between comedy and critique, underscoring the arbitrary nature of representation.

Produced as a signed limited edition print, Belch is a refined example of Baldessari's late printmaking practice, combining art-historical appropriation with his unmistakable conceptual wit.

John Baldessari (1931–2020) was a pioneering American conceptual artist whose artworks fundamentally reshaped the relationship between image, text, and meaning in contemporary art. Widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Baldessari is best known for his use of appropriated photographs, language, and instructional formats to challenge how art is made, read, and understood.

Central to Baldessari's practice was the strategic juxtaposition of text and image. By pairing found photographs with short phrases or blocks of color, he exposed the instability of meaning and questioned authorship, narrative, and visual authority. His artworks are marked by intellectual rigor, dry humor, and a critical engagement with mass media and popular culture.

After abandoning painting in the early 1970s, Baldessari increasingly worked with photography, collage, film, video, and printmaking. His limited edition prints are especially significant, translating his conceptual ideas into highly collectible artworks that combine photographic imagery, bold graphic elements, and language. These signed editions and fine art prints played a key role in making his ideas accessible while preserving their conceptual sharpness.

Baldessari's influence extends across generations of contemporary artists, particularly those working with conceptual, photographic, and text-based practices. His unique artworks, photographs and limited edition prints are held in major museum collections worldwide and remain essential references for understanding the evolution of conceptual art and visual culture.