B. 1931 - Artist John Baldessari was born in 1931. He received an MA and a BA from San Diego State College and was one of the most influential conceptual artists of his time. He did print works in the 1960's, video work in the 1970's and composite photo collages in the 1980's. Although video work is not what made Baldessari famous, they certainly helped his rise; they were ironic videos that dug into the ideas of perception, and meaning and interpretation. Now, his videos are extremely rare because in 1970 he burned them all for reasons unknown to anybody but him. He has won many awards in his career, including the Governor's lifetime achievement award in the visual arts in 1997.