Lincoln Center's Vera List Art Project Adds John Baldessari Project to List

May 12, 2016 - To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Lincoln Center Education, a pioneering, international leader in arts education, renowned visual artist John Baldessari has created the limited edition print Four Hands and a Baseball Bat (2015), a clever visual pun on what it means to "play."

The grainy image harkens back to the glory days of baseball. Baldessari has cropped out the immediately identifiable characteristics of the original image and zoomed in on a specific area of the found photograph. By focusing on the baseball player's hands, Baldessari associates the playing done by legendary athletes on the field to the playing that is done by legendary performers on Lincoln Center's stages.

By omitting the faces of the baseball players, Baldessari has created an environment that allows the viewer to think imaginatively about the meaning of the work. This practice is complementary to Lincoln Center Education's approach to arts education: tapping into each individual's innate ability to respond to works of art-processes that can heighten perception, ignite out-of-the-box thinking, and challenge preconceived notions. As described by art critic Sarah Kirk Handley, "Baldessari's work is concerned with the idea of visual information as signifier and as a means of communication...to create intricate and taut visual puzzles."

Four Hands and a Baseball Bat is on sale now. Visit Art.LincolnCenter.org to view the print and the complete Vera List Art Project collection and to purchase prints and posters. You may also view this and other works by appointment, by emailing art@lincolncenter.org or calling 212.875.5017.