Barbara Kruger “Basically I want to be effective in making changes in power relations, in social relations. . . The spectators who view my work don’t have to understand [art history]. They just have to consider the pictures that bombard their lives and tell them who they are to some extent. That’s all they have to understand.”- Kruger http://www.sublit.com/artkrush/update/02.07.07/img/cover.jpg

Biography born in 1945 in Newark New Jersey Education: attended Syracuse University, the School of Visual Arts, and Parson’s School of Design where she studied art and design with Diane Arbus Kruger worked for Condé Nast Publications designing ads for Mademoiselle magazine, where she eventually became the chief designer 1969 her art career began with fibers and related craft techniques then she moved into painting During this time she was influenced by Magdalena Abakanowicz and created wall hangings 1985 she began making t ext and image artwork in billboard scale Her studio resembles more of an office than an art studio Walker, 68

Techniques & Process Kruger layers found images found in the media to create her work Very similar to the artists Tony Cargg and Jeff Koons Kruger comments how her work as a graphic designer for a magazine has influenced her choice of images, “If you didn’t make people look at that page you were fired.” - Kruger After selecting the pictures she begins matching them with phrases, drawing inspiration from lists of phrases she compiles from her favorite books and the thesaurus when Kruger is asked what kind of art she makes her response is, “I just say I’m someone who works with pictures and words and people can take that to mean anything they like.” - Kruger http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kruger/card2.html

Is Kruger an artist or graphic designer? “Listen: our culture is saturated with irony whether we know it or not.” - Kruger http://blog.art21.org/category/artists/barbara-kruger/

Kruger art questions; gender, racial, cultural, and economical stereotypes created by mass media. Above is a work of art by her known as, "Will". It's making a statement on human will, the power to put one's mind on something (as represented with one hand being put on top of the other hand, in a fashion stating that the person wants something accomplished). Heller, 207

“It’s a plea to reexamine hierarchies.” - Kruger Mitchell, 236 Voices of Dissent: Social, Political and Environmental Statements Painting and sculpture from the Collection focusing on language as a decisive element, alluding to issues questioning notions of power, identity, race, gender and sexuality. This image was also used on a billboard in California which read, “a foster and kleiser public service message” which kruger found helped enhanced her message but it contradicts corporate America Barbara Kruger, Untitled (We don’t need another hero), 1987. “Fighting Words” Fisher Landau Center for the Arts, New York

Barbara Kruger Untitled (You Invest in the Divinity of the Masterpiece) 1982. "What Is Painting?" Museum of Modern Art. New York Mitchell remarks that this image is a satire on the ideology of artistic genius, especially in the trinity of father son and michelangelo, particularly in patriarchal succession of genius “And what I’m interested in is taking that accessibly and making meaning.” - Kruger Mitchell, 248

“I’m interested in working with pictures and words, because I think that they have the power to tell us who we are and who we aren’t”- Kruger Mitchell, 238

What is Barbara Kruger’s Big Idea? Social Problems & Issues Issues that she feels have not been given the attention and awareness they deserve Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire Kruger's work is based on the idea of consistency and surprise, we expect the black and white image with a hint of red but she surprises us with her choice of context

What social issues affect you? Are they being addressed? How can you bring awareness to these issues?

What social issue is Kruger addressing with these images? Barbara Kruger Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground), 1989 Orders not to move: social statutes at one time where there was a controlling patriarchy- freud getting the woman in her place Your body: “Where is the boundary between inside and outside, private and public, and who will control it?” Her message also implicated the conservative agenda in power at this time. Barbara Kruger Untitled (We have received orders not to move) 1982. Photograph, 72”x48”. Mary Boone Gallery, New York http://intertheory.org/drozdek.htm

Barbara Kruger Man's best friend. 1987.     Barbara Kruger Man's best friend. 1987. Barbara Kruger "Untitled" (Questions) 66" by 93" photographic silkscreen/vinyl, 1991. Mary Boone Gallery, New York Kruger’s work addresses political problems and issues as well. www.maryboonegallery.com

In this installation Kruger transferred the words and images directly to the walls of the gallery. The text written on the floor was white on a red background, which reads: "All that seemed beneath you is speaking to you now. All that seemed deaf hears you. All that seemed dumb knows what's on your mind. All that seemed blind sees through you. All that seemed silent is putting the words right into your mouth." Barbara Kruger produced three large-scale gallery installations between 1989 and 1991. In Kruger's installation, the floor now has a voice, the walls can hear you, and the architecture is manipulating the way you speak "Barbara Kruger" exhibition, 1991. Mary Boone Gallery, New York http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kruger/card2.html

Are we influenced by the advertisements we see? Barbara Kruger, Untitled, 2003, Billboard Are we influenced by the advertisements we see? www.nytimes.com/.../10/arts/10marg_CA1ready.html

http://www.pbs.org/art21/series/seasonone/consumption.html# Why do you think these images were used as advertisements? Kruger’s work has appeared on billboards, buscards, posters, a public park, a train station platform in Strasbourg, France, and in other public commissions. Here are examples of images that would be seen. Are we a culture obsessed with, CONSUMPTION? www.socialistreview.org.uk/selfridges.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzKAtrT2lw8 Here is an example of Kruger’s work as an advertisement.

Work Sited www.pbs.org/art21/artists/kruger/card2.html www.mcachicago.org/Book/Kruger-txt.html www.flcart.org/exhibit-nozkowski.htm www.intertheory.org/drozdek.htm www.maryboonegallery.com Linker, Kate. Love For Sale. New York: A Times Mirror Company, 1996. Mitchell, W.J.T. Art and the Public Sphere. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992 Heller, Steven. The Graphic Design Reader .New York: Allworth Press, 2002. Walker, Sydney. Teaching Meaning in Artmaking. Worcester: Davis Publications, Inc., 2001