Barbara Kruger

1. Describe the 'style' that Kruger has used in the two presented works.

Barbara Kruger, labeled by many to be a feminist artist, studied at Syracuse university where she developed her interest in graphic design and poetry. The result of this is that the two works shown are heavily influenced by her background in graphic media.

Kruger's art is done with a graphical approach. We can see this mostly by looking at the blocks of text and/or borders of the artworks. Although there are pop art influences and features in the works, the graphic style she has adopted is what really makes the works stand out from others of her time. The border and white box in 'I shop therefore I am' portray this well as it draws our eyes towards the main message of the image like an advertisement. 'Face It' also does this but has the added effect of a monochromatic design.

2. What are some of the concepts and messages that Kruger is communicating in them?

The messages these works communicate have a lot to do with the American idea of consumerism. This idea revolves around the desire/need to purchase and produce goods at large amounts. Take Kruger's play on the phrase 'I think therefore I am' for example. It is quiet obvious this work is trying to communicate a message with us, however, the message can be differently seen from different perspectives. It simply could be that it is the artists idea or view of how material possessions and consumerism were influencing life at that point in time, or something more complicated like Alan Foljambe's idea of "Shoppers are shopping for art which questions the wisdom of shopping for art which questions the wisdom of shopping. Welcome to the world of post-modernism" (The art of Barbera Kruger, 2010).

3. Do these images communicate these ideas effectively? Explain your answer.

The images by Kruger do a very good job of explaining the ideas of consumerism. This is because of the sheer simpleness of the image and the fact that graphical techniques used aid in getting us to acknowledge the meaning of her words. Kruger also pushes the importance of the words onto us by making the works very large. Standing in front of a 111 x 113 inch piece of work would leave you wondering no doubt.

4. Define the concept of Mercantilism and explain how these two examples can connect with the concept.

Mercantilism is a system that helped wealthy countries become more wealthy by means of overseas exporting. The idea was to export more than you imported in order to gain a larger income. Mercantilism brought about a lot of new ideas with it as well as the lust for precious metals such as gold. I believe that 'I shop therefore I am' connects with this idea in a way that makes people think about the amount of possessions people were actually buying at the time. While 'Face It' is more of a "well i have all this gold, i might as well buy it" sort of a thing.

5. Upload a more recent example of Kruger's work where she has used a new medium, that is not graphic design. Title your image of the chosen work and comment on your response to the work. How do you think the audience would experience this work?



Barbara Kruger
The Globe Shrinks
2010



This 2010 work by Kruger is a 13 minute, 3-way video loop that varies tremendously from her past works in terms of media used. Although it is a video it still aims to show the viewer "the kindness and brutality of the everyday" (Barbara Kruger “The Globe Shrinks” at Mary Boone Gallery 2010). Like her other works it is a mix between written and visual aspects. I think an audience or any viewer would be relatively overwhelmed walking into a room like this and seeing a three paneled video as huge as this one. It would make them think about various aspects of life as the video swapped between written words and visual pictures.

References:

http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger.html

http://slamxhype.com/art-design/barbara-kruger-%E2%80%9Cthe-globe-shrinks%E2%80%9D-at-mary-boone-gallery/

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-art-of-barbara-kruger-a240211

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Man-Mix/Mercantilism.html

http://www.dukevisualstudies.org/artsvis54/?p=757