
Teaching a Plant the Alphabet
“[A] rather perverse exercise in futility,” this tape documents Baldessari’s response to Joseph Beuys’s influential performance, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. Baldessari’s approach here is characteristically subtle and ironic, involving ordinary objects and a seemingly banal task. The philosophical underpinnings of Baldessari’s exercise are structuralist theories about the opaque and artificial nature of language as a system of signs. Using a common houseplant to represent nature and instructional flashcards to represent the alphabet, Baldessari ironically illustrates this theorem. That language is the structuring element of the tape—the length of the tape was determined by the number of letters in the alphabet—enforces the connection between language and art, a recurrent theme in Baldessari’s work.
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- —
- Language
- EN
Release dates
United StatesUS
- Theatrical1 Jan 1972
Frequently asked questions
- When was Teaching a Plant the Alphabet released?
- Teaching a Plant the Alphabet was released on 1 January 1972.
- Where can I watch Teaching a Plant the Alphabet online?
- No verified streaming availability is listed for Teaching a Plant the Alphabet right now. Check back soon.
- Is there a Hindi trailer for Teaching a Plant the Alphabet?
- No verified Hindi trailer for Teaching a Plant the Alphabet is available yet. Only the original-language trailer is listed.
- What is the rating of Teaching a Plant the Alphabet?
- Teaching a Plant the Alphabet holds a 0.0/10 audience score from 0 votes.
- Who directed Teaching a Plant the Alphabet?
- Teaching a Plant the Alphabet (1972) was directed by John Baldessari.
- How long is Teaching a Plant the Alphabet?
- Teaching a Plant the Alphabet runs for 18m.












