John Baldessari, William Wegman

On the wall: Lawrence Weiner's work THE TRACE OF AN ACTION PAST (i.e. A WET PLACE) (1986). On the mirror: MA MAISON EST TA MAISON / TA MAISON EST MA MAISON (1986), silk-screen on transparency produced by Eric Linard Editions, Strasbourg (1986).

Lawrence Weiner stickers including STONE UPON STONE UPON FALLEN STONE / PIERRE SUR PIERRE SURE PIERRE TOMBÉ (1983) produced on the occasion of A Pierre et Marie: Une Exposition en Travaux, Paris, 1982; PLACED OVER A SPACE WITH A PROBABILITY OF A SHIFT (i.e. A LINTEL) (1977) produced by Chinese Chance, Inc., NYC, 1979.

William Wegman's former darkroom.

"The Legendary Past of Analia Saban’s Santa Monica Studio

Analia Saban lives and works in a studio with a legendary past. Before she took over the space on Main Street in Santa Monica, it belonged to John Baldessari and, prior to him, William Wegman.
....
Saban still uses the darkroom built by Wegman in the early 1970s. “Everything is the same, even though I’ve been here for three years.” Candid photos of Baldessari’s life, including images of his children, remained on the walls of the kitchen area. Baldessari, after vacating this studio and several others scattered throughout Los Angeles, had consolidated his practice into one large complex in Venice Beach. But a room at Saban’s remained dedicated to part of his vast collection of magazines and newspapers — research for his appropriation work using imagery from popular culture. Of the ephemera he left behind, Saban said, “He has a lot of different archives. It’s good for an extension to be kept for him here. It’s still his place, in a way — everything’s the same. I’m just trying to clean it a little over time,” she laughed. She explained how she works around her predecessors’ work spaces, respectfully keeping them intact.

The washroom showed further traces of the studio’s history. Inside, handwritten on the wall, was a 1986 text piece Lawrence Weiner had given to Baldessari that read: THE TRACE OF AN ACTION PAST (i.e. A WET PLACE). Several Weiner stickers were adhered to the wall (STONE UPON STONE UPON FALLEN STONE / PIERRE SUR PIERRE SUR PIERRE TOMBÉ [1983] and PLACED OVER A SPACE WITH A PROBABILITY OF A SHIFT (i.e. A LINTEL) [1977]); and to the mirror (MA MAISON EST TA MAISON / TA MAISON EST MA MAISON [1986]). Upon viewing the photos, Weiner remarked, “Over the years I have taken many a shower in that room, as John was a very gracious host.”

William Wegman had recently visited Saban at the studio and discovered she still had a chair he had used in many of his well-known video pieces. “He was really emotional about it,” said Saban. Shortly after his visit, she packed the chair, along with some images she had photographed of the studio, and shipped it to Wegman. The parcel happened to arrive on his birthday. When I returned to New York, I contacted Wegman to document the prodigal chair’s return."

Excerpted from STUDIO LIFE: Rituals, Collections, Tools, and Observations on the Artistic Process by Sarah Trigg. (bron: Vulture)

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> William Wegman