Conceptual artist John Baldessari’s work often bent the rules of traditional art, or rejected them altogether. Most famously, he decided to burn all of his previous work in a piece called “Cremation Project” in 1970 (he had been painting since the 1950s). From then on, Baldessari explored numerous mediums, including film, text painting, sculpture, and more, often commenting on the overly intellectual nature of much conceptual art. His artistic direction and his words push us to try a different approach when considering something familiar. Instead of taking things at face value, we can take a different view, think outside the box, and see things we were never able to see before.