WRONG! Blog Post 1
INTRO:
John Baldessari’s photograph titled “Wrong” is rather simple—a man standing directly under a palm tree, creating an awkward composition where the tree seemingly grows out of his head. When you first see this photo, it kind of just seems like a poorly taken image, but with the context of the title and Baldessari’s idea and art practice, it becomes much more meaningful.
Emotional State and Mindset of the Photographer:
This photo challenges the many concepts of photograph. It plays with all the “rigid” rules within photography and art. It seems as though Baldessari stepped out of his way to make his photography to look weird and wonky. Honestly I think Baldessari’s bold step towards breaking the rules made a masterpiece of art/phtograph. At first glance, I thought it was a person leaving for college, and just quickly snapping a photo his/her dad and their house to keep for memory (which is really sweet btw.) But as I looked at the photo more carefully, I realized how there was no focus to the photo, everything was not in focus, and how the photo was not following the rule of thirds. Even though most people would expect a photo not following these rules to be awful, Baldessari produced a photo with feelings that could be described as defiant, not willing to follow the given rules, and reaches for the freedom in art. Inquisitive, willing to try out what everyone believed to be wrong and see what it turns out to be. And ironic because Baldessari expected the photo to be wrong and bad, but he still did it anyway, kind of like he was mocking the rules before, adds dry humor.
How the Word “Wrong” Shapes Our Understanding:
The word “wrong” makes the viewer to understand that he broke these rules on purpose, and gives us a clue to what Baldessari was thinking while creating this artwork(s). It is also the word that actually led me to analyze and see the picture more carefully and slowly finding the mistakes. It makes us question ourselves, is it wrong because of the framing? The lighting? What could be done to make this photo “right”? Is it “wrong” because we were told that? Can a photograph actually BE wrong? And questions of that sort. This simple word makes the viewer go deep into their thoughts and think about the photo in a whole other level and view point. It also makes us reflect back on our own assumptions of what we believe as “good” or “bad” pieces of art.
How This Influences Our Appreciation:
Knowing that Baldessari was intentionally going against the artistic norms gives the photograph a new powerful layer. It stands as a piece going for artistic freedom, a serious yet not really serious way of questioning the viewer of the rules given. Once we understand that this photo has all these other meanings, it makes us think different and understand art differently. We now can see that there are other ways to make art beautiful and unique. Not every piece of artwork has to fit into some specific mold, and that we all have different aesthetics. Like how I find this photo sweet and full of stories (even though it really doesn’t have the story that I thought of but I can’t unsee it now), others might find it as a strange and crooked photo. Everyone sees it differently and that’s totally okay.
Conclusion:
By using the clue of the title “wrong” as a clue and understanding more of what Baldessari was trying to get through his artwork we can begin to understand more artworks. For me, I started to understand “Wrong” not as a failed photo (even though I never really did, it always looked pretty right to me the tree part was really cool), but as a way of showcasing that art is not only what it looks like but also what it means.
Works Cited:
Baldessari, John “Wrong” Photograph. Dragon’s Exchange, ISB, 22nd August 2024. https://dx.isb.cn/dash/#/classroom/648607/sections/lesson/344114/page/344116/edit, Accessed 22nd August 2024.