Jenny Holtzer

From 1975 JH artistic career started as she entered a Masters of Fine Arts program at Rhode Island school were she worked with the form of abstract painting. JH then moved to NY were her ideas about art changed dramatically. JH then left the world of abstract painting, and engaged with the street in favour of a more direct and politically charged art. In doing so JH became a momentous player in the post-modern art movement.

JH felt that her abstract works didn’t convey her ideas clearly to an audience and therefore did not grab their attention. “I had done public works but they were unsuccessful”. They didn’t mean anything, they were abstract.” Her painting then fell away as she grasped onto the new concept of using written text. As this technique became dominant, her small posters grabbed the attention of the audience and took effect.

JH now had now grasped of her new art style as she could gather a better response to her audience through the use of language(text) in her works. Text allowed Holtzer to be explicit about issues and it became clear that the

e.g. One of her popular truisms located in Times Square in NY states “abuse of power comes as no surprise”. This statement refers to the use of power, it makes the audience reflect and question political and social issues, How has power been used, they question, is power being abused and reflect on what would they do with such power? This statement springs on the audience i.e. “brings us up short” (extract 2) as it stumps the audience to respond to the statement, but then this statement can be playing on a cliché as “absolute power corrupts absolutely” as the audience can see

“People can understand you more when you say or write something.”

Extract1 “JH started writing short slogans and leaving them in public places

Some topics in this essay:
Rhode Island, Eg JH, Square NY, Jenny Holtzer, Barbara Kurger, , MTv Billboard’s, Fine Arts, electronic signs, wider audience, reach audience, direct manner, makes audience, personal level, extract 2, extract 1, audience engage, abstract painting,