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Artist Study: Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger is most famous for her images that challenge preconceived notions of women and the mass media’s influence on society. Kruger layers existing photographs found in modern society with pithy and aggressive text and combines it with her trademark red against black and white images. Kruger uses pre-existing sources (such as images, phrases and slogans) and twists them to make an ironic and bold view on issues centralised around consumerism and feminism. Kruger’s past experience in working for advertising companies is evident in her artworks. Her images are influenced by the skills she gained from advertising, allowing her bold, succinct slogans combined with images to capture an audience’s attention and make a point. One of Kruger’s most easily recognizable pieces is the “Untitled – I shop therefore I am.”



In this artwork, Kruger concentrates on the theme of consumerism. Kruger utilizes René Descartes famous quote “I think therefore I am.” This quote deals with the issue of whether we, as humans, are real or if our world is simply imagined. The quote signifies that we exist, simply because we are “thinking”, and that alone is enough proof that we, as humans are real. Kruger effectively uses this famous quote and makes it post-modern, critiquing the contemporary culture and society of hyper-consumerism and mass media. With this phrase, Kruger insinuates that society has reached the point of consumerism being a central part of our being and way of life. Kruger suggests that our state of being is reliant on us consuming from the mass market. “I shop therefore I am” plays on the original phrase, now signifying that we exist only because we “shop”, that is, in essence, consume commercial products. The apparent simplicity of this photography is outweighed by the weight the statement holds, and how it is incorporated into the image. Kruger uses line to draw attention to the central statement. The hand behind is also evident because of the composition of the hand, in that the lines are all facing diagonally towards the middle. The colour in this image is perhaps one of the most important aspects. Kruger uses her trademark red on a black and white/ grayscale image. Along with adding more focus and interest to the image by drawing the viewer’s eye, it also serves to create an element of shock to support the meaning behind the work. The contrast attracts and keeps the viewers eye on the image, and the text in the image allows the viewer to question the statement expressed in the image. These contrasts in her images are needed to make her works that much more effective in getting her point across. The influence of Kruger’s time in advertising is evident, as Kruger knows which techniques are needed to make this artwork effective. Kruger uses the composition of a hand holding a sign of sorts, which emphasizes her statement.   By Emily Sanchez

__**http://www.wdog.com/rider/writings/real_kruger.htm www.maryboonegallery.com/.../ kruger/detail1.html http://www.barbarakruger.com/art.shtml http://www.barbarakruger.com/biography.shtml
 * __Bibliography:

http://artetentreprise.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/barbara-kruger.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito_ergo_sum

Here is my wiki page http://emilyphotography.wikispaces.com/