Baldessari was a seminal figure in the Conceptual art movement that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, emphasizing ideas, language, and performative actions over the formal preoccupations of painting. For many Conceptualists any act could be deemed an artwork, and here Baldessari takes a humorous and ironic look at the extremes of such a position. In an ironic reference to body art, process art and performance, Baldessari challenges definitions of the content and execution of art-making. Performing with deadpan precision, he moves his hands, arms and entire body in studied, minute motions, intoning the phrase "I am making art" with each gesture. Each articulation of the phrase is given a different emphasis and nuance, as if art were being created from moment to moment. This index of body movements is ironically offset by the repetitive monotony of the exercise. Although Baldessari demurs from calling himself a performer — "I think performance for me is a little bit too hot an activity" — his "anti-performance" is nonetheless the core of this work.

Gallery label from Multiplex: Directions in Art, 1970 to Now, November 21, 2007-July 28, 2008

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