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Jenny Holzer: Xenon For Duisburg
ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE MURDER HAS ITS SEXUAL SIDE
PEOPLE WON'T BEHAVE IF THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE
SLOPPY THINKING GETS WORSE OVER TIME
Jenny Holzer's Truisms , the series of texts from which these phrases derive, are just one of the sources for the jolting words that the artist projects across monumental manmade and natural structures from Buenos Aires to Berlin. Beginning in the late 70s, Holzer has posted her provocative texts around the urban environment via a range of media--first on simple xeroxed posters, later on stickers, T-shirts, postcards, bronze plaques and baseball caps. In the 1980s, she moved on to the mass formats of large-scale LED screens in airports and sports stadiums. In her most recent projects, she has gone larger still, adopting xenon spotlight technology to project printed messages onto building facades and public squares, mountain sides and river surfaces. The effect is overwhelming, as if Holzer's inflammatory commands were being spoken by some omniscient voice, impossible to ignore.
Xenon for The Power of Words documents a cross-section of Holzer's light-art oeuvre, featuring recent projections of text works sampled from her earlier series Truisms (1977-1979), Inflammatory Essays (1979-1982) and Survival (1983-1985). Also included is Mother and Child (1990), a set of phrases projected onto the monumental blast furnace at the former Thyssen steelworks and on other prominent architectural structures in downtown Duisburg in 2004. The accompanying DVD features more texts and images.
PEOPLE WON'T BEHAVE IF THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE
SLOPPY THINKING GETS WORSE OVER TIME
Jenny Holzer's Truisms , the series of texts from which these phrases derive, are just one of the sources for the jolting words that the artist projects across monumental manmade and natural structures from Buenos Aires to Berlin. Beginning in the late 70s, Holzer has posted her provocative texts around the urban environment via a range of media--first on simple xeroxed posters, later on stickers, T-shirts, postcards, bronze plaques and baseball caps. In the 1980s, she moved on to the mass formats of large-scale LED screens in airports and sports stadiums. In her most recent projects, she has gone larger still, adopting xenon spotlight technology to project printed messages onto building facades and public squares, mountain sides and river surfaces. The effect is overwhelming, as if Holzer's inflammatory commands were being spoken by some omniscient voice, impossible to ignore.
Xenon for The Power of Words documents a cross-section of Holzer's light-art oeuvre, featuring recent projections of text works sampled from her earlier series Truisms (1977-1979), Inflammatory Essays (1979-1982) and Survival (1983-1985). Also included is Mother and Child (1990), a set of phrases projected onto the monumental blast furnace at the former Thyssen steelworks and on other prominent architectural structures in downtown Duisburg in 2004. The accompanying DVD features more texts and images.
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2006
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September 13, 2009
Those of you who know me will probably say that my taste in art is questionable (Ahem, you know who you are). I’m not the biggest fan of modern art. A lot of it pisses me off. I don’t understand Cy Twombly at all. I didn’t understand the giant wax torso covered with human hair (probably pubic) that was sitting in one of the rooms at the San Francisco MOMA. In fact, when I saw it, I said “Gross” out loud. Two women standing nearby looked at me and I could read the disapproval on their faces. “Philistine,” their expressions said.
But, I do love Jenny Holzer. She is probably best known for her Truisms texts that have been displayed on large LED signs or projected onto public buildings. A lot of Holzer’s work consists of short sentences packed with meaning that when displayed on a continuous scroll, overload the senses. Here are a few examples:
CHILDREN ARE THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE
CHILDREN ARE THE MOST CRUEL OF ALL
DISGUST IS THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO MOST SITUATIONS
GOVERNMENT IS A BURDEN ON THE PEOPLE
SILLY HOLES IN PEOPLE ARE FOR BREEDING OR FROM SHOOTING
You get the idea.
I have good memories associated with Holzer. I first saw some of her work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where her Protect Protect exhibition was being shown.
It’s not often that I am so struck by art. Some of Holzer’s displays were mounted on walls; others ran along the floor. In fact, I was so moved by one of the light displays that I pulled out my camera, snapped a picture, and was immediately yelled at by Security. It was worth being yelled at to capture this:
There were also tables covered with human bones that had Holzer’s sayings attached to them on engraved silver bands. I would have loved to slide one into my bag when the security guard wasn’t looking.
This book was given to me for my birthday by a wonderful friend and Goodreader while I was in Portland visiting. It will always remind me of the super fun weekend I spent there. No, Holzer wasn’t showing at the Portland Art Museum, but I did find a copy of this book while we were browsing in Powell’s, which is quite possibly the best bookstore ever. It contains a few essays on Holzer’s work as well as photographs of her 2004 Xenon For Duisburg exhibit in Germany. The end of the book contains a selection of texts that were projected onto the buildings in Duisburg.
Though it is essentially a book of pictures, Die Macht Des Wortes is still worth checking out. I haven’t even mentioned the best part, which is that the book included a DVD, but I haven’t watched it yet.
But, I do love Jenny Holzer. She is probably best known for her Truisms texts that have been displayed on large LED signs or projected onto public buildings. A lot of Holzer’s work consists of short sentences packed with meaning that when displayed on a continuous scroll, overload the senses. Here are a few examples:
CHILDREN ARE THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE
CHILDREN ARE THE MOST CRUEL OF ALL
DISGUST IS THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO MOST SITUATIONS
GOVERNMENT IS A BURDEN ON THE PEOPLE
SILLY HOLES IN PEOPLE ARE FOR BREEDING OR FROM SHOOTING
You get the idea.
I have good memories associated with Holzer. I first saw some of her work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where her Protect Protect exhibition was being shown.
It’s not often that I am so struck by art. Some of Holzer’s displays were mounted on walls; others ran along the floor. In fact, I was so moved by one of the light displays that I pulled out my camera, snapped a picture, and was immediately yelled at by Security. It was worth being yelled at to capture this:
There were also tables covered with human bones that had Holzer’s sayings attached to them on engraved silver bands. I would have loved to slide one into my bag when the security guard wasn’t looking.
This book was given to me for my birthday by a wonderful friend and Goodreader while I was in Portland visiting. It will always remind me of the super fun weekend I spent there. No, Holzer wasn’t showing at the Portland Art Museum, but I did find a copy of this book while we were browsing in Powell’s, which is quite possibly the best bookstore ever. It contains a few essays on Holzer’s work as well as photographs of her 2004 Xenon For Duisburg exhibit in Germany. The end of the book contains a selection of texts that were projected onto the buildings in Duisburg.
Though it is essentially a book of pictures, Die Macht Des Wortes is still worth checking out. I haven’t even mentioned the best part, which is that the book included a DVD, but I haven’t watched it yet.
Displaying 1 of 1 review