Barbara Kruger is a New York-based artist, feminist, writer, and graphic designer, who is known for her artworks that combine an image with provocative text, speaking about power and control. One of her trademarks is bold letters in a slash of red background, with thought-provoking texts, like “I shop therefore I am” and “Your body is a battleground”. Her works explore many themes from feminism, and consumerism, to individual autonomy and desire.
Currently, Kruger’s recent works are presented at two renowned art institutions, The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and David Zwirner gallery. MoMA presents an exhibition entitled Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You, a large-scale site-specific commission, covering Marron Family Atrium’s walls and floors with texts in printed vinyl. This exhibition coincides with Kruger’s exhibition at David Zwirner gallery, featuring nine large-scale video works and installations, as well as sound installations and vinyl wallpaper.
The installation at MoMA invites the visitors to walk on the vinyl floor full of texts and to look at the installation from the upper floor. This installation also allows the viewers to see the work from multiple perspectives. The bold black and white texts draw the viewer’s attention to read and reflect on the message behind the artwork.
For example, on the floor, Kruger quoted George Orwell, “If You Want A Picture Of The Future, Imagine A Boot Stamping On A Human Face, Forever.” Orwell wrote this line in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four as a criticism of totalitarianism.
On the east wall, the artist inscribed, “You. You Are Seeing And Being Seen. Caught In The Mind’s Eye. Caught In A World In Shambles. This Thing Called “You”. This Thing Called “Me”. In This Moment. In This Place. Right Now. Come Closer.”
This passage reminds me of today’s surveillance society in which everyone’s daily activities is monitored through surveillance technology, from security camera to the internet. Many websites and applications record users’ activities on the internet, to identify their preferences as they are targets of advertisements. The relation of ‘technology that connects, but also controls us’ is a theme in the documentary and narrative drama film The Social Dilemma (2020).
In this installation, Kruger also criticizes waging war and the world where women are subordinated.
About her works, Kruger says, “I try to make work that joins the seductions of wishful thinking with the criticality of knowing better.” For more than forty years, Barbara Kruger has been successful in questioning social relations wrapped in ‘humor and urgency’. Kruger’s works have been much influenced by her previous background in design when she worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in magazines.
Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. is on view at the Donald and Catherine Marron Family Atrium, The Museum of Modern Art, from July 16, 2022, through January 2, 2023.
Barbara Kruger’s recent works are also on view at David Zwirner, from June 30—August 12, 2022.
Installing Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., The Museum of Modern Art
