Whilst i was researching the theme of the human condition i came across this image 'you are yourself' by Barabara Kruger.I also found out that she studied with one of my previous inspirations Diane Arbus.
Barbara Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945. After attending Syracuse University, the School of Visual Arts, and studying art and design with Diane Arbus at Parson’s School of Design in New York, Kruger obtained a design job at Condé Nast Publications. Working for Mademoiselle Magazine, she was quickly promoted to head designer. Later, she worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in the art departments at House and Garden.
This background in design is evident in the work for which she is now internationally renowned. She layers found photographs from existing sources with pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that her captions speak to. In their trademark black letters against a slash of red background, some of her instantly recognizable slogans read “I shop therefore I am,” and “Your body is a battleground."
Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire, although her black-and-white images are from the mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing. As well as appearing in museums and galleries
worldwide, Kruger’s work has appeared on billboards, buscards, posters, a public park, a train station platform in Strasbourg, France, and in other public commissions. She has taught at the California Institute of Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkeley.
The image above has been particularly inspirational to me because i have researched and been inspired by the notion of entrapment. Being trapped in your own body. This is how many schizophrenics feel. As if they have been trapped in an emotion and/or body that can no longer function in a humane or normal fashion. I have experimented with the idea of the mirror and cracks appearing in the persons head/body and mind. Krugers use of stark supporting text aids the imapct of each image. I will experiment with text and see if it can aid my communication with the wider audience. I am unsure if the text will aid my message or make it appear trivial. I hope to experiment with text but i am aware that Krugers work has been oversaturated and plagarised to such a point
Barbara Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945. After attending Syracuse University, the School of Visual Arts, and studying art and design with Diane Arbus at Parson’s School of Design in New York, Kruger obtained a design job at Condé Nast Publications. Working for Mademoiselle Magazine, she was quickly promoted to head designer. Later, she worked as a graphic designer, art director, and picture editor in the art departments at House and Garden.
This background in design is evident in the work for which she is now internationally renowned. She layers found photographs from existing sources with pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in the struggle for power and control that her captions speak to. In their trademark black letters against a slash of red background, some of her instantly recognizable slogans read “I shop therefore I am,” and “Your body is a battleground."
Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire, although her black-and-white images are from the mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing. As well as appearing in museums and galleries
worldwide, Kruger’s work has appeared on billboards, buscards, posters, a public park, a train station platform in Strasbourg, France, and in other public commissions. She has taught at the California Institute of Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkeley.
The image above has been particularly inspirational to me because i have researched and been inspired by the notion of entrapment. Being trapped in your own body. This is how many schizophrenics feel. As if they have been trapped in an emotion and/or body that can no longer function in a humane or normal fashion. I have experimented with the idea of the mirror and cracks appearing in the persons head/body and mind. Krugers use of stark supporting text aids the imapct of each image. I will experiment with text and see if it can aid my communication with the wider audience. I am unsure if the text will aid my message or make it appear trivial. I hope to experiment with text but i am aware that Krugers work has been oversaturated and plagarised to such a point
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