Overview: Barbara Kruger was a conceptual and contemporary artist who was born in Newark, New jersey in 1945. She studied at Syracuse University and then attended Parsons School of design. She first got a job as a graphic designer and she used this background in design throughout her work. Her peak popularity was mainly during the 1980’s where she would use found photographs to create collages. These collages used made-up text and images from magazines that focus on consumerism and advertising. She used black and white images to convey her ideas and layered the bold and normally red text on top of said images. Her captions often speak to the viewer about the struggle for power and control. Her text and image combinations also question the viewer about feminism, consumerism, classism, and individual autonomy. She now currently lives and works in New York and Los Angeles, and has exhibited across the globe.
Question 1: Why do you think Barbara Kruger combined the black and white photos with red box text?
Answer 1: I believe that that the color red can signify emotions such as anger or danger. For example a warning or a stop sign is normally red and it is a color that pops out at the viewer.
Answer 2: I find red to be a color that captures the viewer’s attention and when against a colorless background it allows for the eye to move from the text and then your focus shifts to the image associated with it.
Answer 3: Barbara Kruger had a background in design and with these black and white images from magazines she could play with words and bold text to provoke different emotions among the people that view her pieces.
Question 2: In Barbara Kruger’s piece Untitled, (Questions), from (1990/2018) she asks questions within her piece. What do think could be some of the bigger ideas that she is trying to get at with the questions asked?
Answer 1: I think her questions are trying to ask the question about social and political issues. She is trying to get at the bigger ideas behind politics in society especially in her goals of confronting the viewer about power struggles.
Answer 2: She could be trying to get the viewer to ask questions about power relations, and I see this especially through this piece, because she asks the question “who is beyond the law?” which is an interesting power play.
Answer 3: It could also be about public engagement or social justice. I think she is trying to get the viewer as involved as possible and the questions are in such large text that it doesn’t really give the viewer a choice but to be confronted by the questions.
Question 3: Barbara Kruger often confronts the viewer with stereotypes in today’s society. What are some stereotypes you would confront if you were the artist?
Answer 1: I would talk about how there is still a wage gap in today’s society and make a collage that confronts those issues. She also critiques social aspects of society and can use that to be a vehicle for change.
Answer 2: If I were the artist I would talk about how schools do not always accommodate students with special needs and how we could better school environments by making sure that all students feel supported.
Answer 3: I would make commentary on how social media has recently been affecting the mental health of today’s youth.
Question 4: The brand Supreme was inspired by her work. She later sued the company for appropriating her style. Many artists are inspired by others, but do you think there is a boundary that should be set?
Answer 1: I think it is really important to take inspiration from other artists, but Supreme did take a lot of her ideas. Boundaries should definitely be set and maybe there could be copy write laws to help protect the artist.
Answer 2: I think as an artist we want to inspire others to create, but not copy. As an artist I would feel personally hurt and betrayed if someone stole my work. It feels almost like a crime.
Answer 3: A boundary should be set because it is not fair for Barbara Kruger and many other artists to go through feeling like something you created was stolen. As an artist you should be proud of your work because you made it, and as an artist you should be inspired by others and create similar work, but not copying.
Question 5: How can Kruger’s visual media art influence people’s views and behaviors?
Answer 1: By having pieces with large text on buses or buildings it grabs peoples attention. Her larger pieces do not normally use photos with the text, but the way that the text is organized in black and white font grabs the viewer’s attention.
Answer 2: Kruger’s art can influence young people because many younger generations have joined social media platforms and her imagery targets how advertising can skew our ideas of society and consumerism.
Answer 3: Her work could influence behaviors because someone could see her artwork and confront themselves with her questions or sayings, and then realize that they play a role in the issues that she is trying to address. Her work could be used as a catalyst for making people question their roles in society.