EXPRESS YOURSELF!
Holzer's astringent ideas, arguments, and sorrows
Protect Me From What I Want by Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer's medium, whether formulated as a T-shirt, a plaque, or an LED sign, is writing, and the public dimension is integral to the delivery of her work. Starting in the 1970s with her New York City posters, and continuing through her recent light projections on landscape and architecture, Holzer’s practice has rivaled ignorance and violence with humor, kindness, and courage. Holzer is best known for her Truisms – disquieting, succinct, and subversive messages which she conceived of in the 1970s, and have appeared on the theater marquees and digital billboards in Times Square since 1982. Over forty years later, Holzer’s words return to the screens of Times Square with two works designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for Messages for the City. (timessquarenyc)
See
I used language because I wanted to offer content that people – not necessarily art people – could understand.
Jenny Holzer
Messages for the City
A great feature of the electronic signs is their capacity to move content. I love that because motion is much like the spoken word: you can emphasize phrases; you can roll and pause, the kinetic equivalent to inflection. It's a real plus to have that programming capacity. I write my text by saying the words out loud, or I write and then say words, to test them. Having text move is an extension of that process.
The Living Series, 1989 by Jenny Holzer
I first learned about Jenny Holzer’s work at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. I lived near Loring Park and would often cross the Siah Armajani bridge to spend time in the garden. Although I am a trained artist and art educator, I ended up spending the most time with her words. Their poignancy tickled me. Somehow, having irreverent truths carved into granite thrilled me. It was as if the real truth was being told in some real way, importantly, publicly.
IT TAKES A WHILE BEFORE YOU CAN STEP OVER INERT BODIES AND GO AHEAD WITH WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO. The Living Series, 1989
Truisms, 1983 by Jenny Holzer
Truisms by Jenny Holzer (1978-1983)
Say
After reading Holzer’s messages above, jot your favorite down and reflect on its meaning in your life.
Is there a truism that you could stand behind?
What added meaning or impact does installing her words in iconic places like a marquee in Times Square or engraved into granite benches.
Do
Read the full list of Truisms, highlight a few that resonate with you.
Create a list of Truisms of your own. What does it tell you about yourself?
About Jenny Holzer
Born July 29, 1950, Holzer is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. The main focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, projections on buildings and other structures, and illuminated electronic displays.
Holzer belongs to the feminist branch of a generation of artists that emerged around 1980, and was an active member of Colab during this time, participating in the famous The Times Square Show. (Tate.org)
Education, Truisms
A native of Gallipolis, Ohio, Holzer originally hoped to be a painter. She studied at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and earned an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. After moving to New York City in 1977, she began using language as her medium and produced her first major series, Truisms— short, often provocative sentences that she printed on handbills and posted anonymously on buildings and walls around Manhattan.
Survival Series, Laments, Living
In subsequent series, Holzer explores other methods of presentation. Survival Series (1983–1985), which warned about the dangers of everyday living, were blazoned on enormous electronic signboards in public spaces, while the more personal Laments (1989), which the artist identified as the thoughts of thirteen deceased adults and children, were engraved on a row of stone sarcophagi. Living (1981) was a group of short instructional texts first presented on bronze plaques to give them an institutional, authoritative look. In 1989, Holzer had 28 texts from Living engraved on white granite benches for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, where they provide seating along one of the park’s pathways.
Venice Biennale, Abstract Paintings
In 1990, Holzer became the first woman to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. Her installation of flashing LED signboards was awarded the Leone d’Oro for best pavilion. Since the mid-1990s, she has created dozens of outdoor light projections on buildings in cities ranging from Singapore to San Diego. Concurrently, the artist has returned to painting with silk-screened canvases based on declassified, redacted government documents concerning the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Holzer’s deeply felt and formally inventive work has established her as one of the leading artists of her generation. (walkerart.org)
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