Research Kruger's work to find an example from the 1970s or 1980s to compare with a more recent work. How has Kruger's work changed with the developments in contemporary visual arts? Describe a recent work that moves away from the 'poster' type work of her early career.
Between the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Barbara Kruger, working as a graphic designer for popular magazines, gained recognition in the art world for photo-based images overlaid with blocks of text in a signature color scheme of black, white, and red. Her practice of culling and editing found photographs and of pairing them with phrases in provocative ways was informed by her interest in feminism and critical theory. These investigations into the seemingly innocuous and yet potentially insidious ways in which ideological messages infiltrate daily life by means of the mass media continue today, although she has more recently expanded her repertoire to include installations with video and audio components and oversized sculptures.
The kestnergesellschaft is presenting a new wall installation that was specially conceived for its spaces, as well as the most recent video work Twelve, by Barbara Kruger, born in 1945. The American artist, who was awarded an honorary lion at the Venice Biennale in 2005 for her life’s work, advanced with her large-scale text collages in both public and museum spaces to recognition as one of the most important representatives of a conceptually oriented contemporary art.
Images and texts from the mass media, from advertising and from the world of consumption constitute the material out of which Barbara Kruger develops her messages. With formal succinctness and by means of an unmistakable aesthetic, she is able again and again to formulate apposite and irritating slogans, such as “I shop therefore I am” or “Your Body is a Battleground,” which thematize not only the relationship between the sexes but also various social and political issues. The vinyl wall installation in the kestnergesellschaft focuses on the theme of consumption. In their customary provocative manner, the messages that are presented here include “Buy me, I’ll change your life,” “Money talks” or “Money can buy you love.”
How does the audience experience a more spatial, installation art work compared with a poster?
The audience could be more impressed by installations because they look complicated while from a poster you can understand and see the idea easily.
What elements does Kruger use in her work to create a strong impact?
Barbara Kruger is an American artist who became famous for her placement of bright text on top of her black and white photography. It’s usually declarative phrases that crisis “sexism and the circulation of power within cultures.”
Comment on the development of her work over the last 30 years.
Her works become different and experimentive because she is making video installations and using more colors.
