Barbara Kruger’s new work The Globe Shrinks comes to London this month and you don’t want to miss it.
The name Barbara Kruger might not sound familiar to you but the work of this conceptual American artist almost certainly will be. Born in New Jersey in 1945, Kruger studied first at Syracuse University and then studied art and design at Parsons School of Design in New York. At Parsons Kruger was taught alongside the legendary black and white photographer Diane Arbus and the painter Marvin Israel. Between them they formed a triumvirate of emerging artists that would shape the future of contemporary American art spanning several disciplines and mediums.
After completing her studies Kruger began working for Condé Naste Publications. On magazines such as Mademoiselle and House and Garden her design work began to shape the practice of the artworks that would eventually make her famous. Her experience in magazine design was central to the aesthetic of her seminal pieces, known as ‘paste ups’, found photographs were emblazoned with challenging statements designed to look like magazine and newspaper headlines. “Your Body Is A Battleground” sits atop an image of a perfect female models face, suggesting a confrontational feminist reading of the media’s role in body image and sexual politics.
This unique coupling of found imagery with superimposed headline style text was a radical artistic statement and remains among Kruger’s best known and best loved work. Using methods of juxtaposition or literal interpretations of imagery and text these artworks took the format of magazines and newspapers, the most ubiquitous printed media, and remediated it as art with a political agenda. Wishing to engage in a dialogue against consumerism and sexism the most famous of these pieces reads “I Shop Therefore I Am”. It has been copied, used and re-appropriated all over the world appearing in the window of Selfridges department store and on everything from t-shirts to (quite un-ironically) shopping bags. And while that’s ultimately a mark of success it’s similar to the sad fact that Piet Mondrian’s most famous work is associated more with the design of hair care products than with the Neo-Plasticism movement from which it came.
Kruger’s new show at London’s Sprueth Magers gallery is entitled The Globe Shrinks. Kruger has for some years been moving away from the conceptual image and text based work and now creates film, audio and architectural installation pieces. Immersive works that still deal with feminism and anti-consumerism Kruger’s agenda remains the same. There is of course still plenty of text in this video piece. In a darkened room the screen is black and the white text reads, “Don’t leave. Please. Stay. It’s nice to be in the dark, right?” It’s a playful piece of work, seductive, challenging and everything else you’ve come to expect from Kruger.
Despite the change in medium the art has retained the ability to aggressively assault your senses, a skill that Kruger excels at. Video work doesn’t have the same immediate impact of photography or the still image and in a way it’s less punchy than the work Kruger is famous for. But as a medium film is immersive, more engaging, and ultimately the natural progression for the artist.
Barbara Kruger The Globe Shrinks is showing at Sprueth Magers Gallery London until May 21