Jenny Holzer

Famous for her short statements known as 'Truisms', Holzer devised nearly 300 slogans which play on commonly held truths or clichés. They were initially infiltrated into the public arena by stickers, T'shirts and posters. It was only later on that she began to use electronic displays. Her practise has rivalled ignorance and violence with humour, kindness and moral courage.


Examples of the 'truisms' :


‘a man can't know what it's like to be a mother’,

‘men are not monogamous by nature’,

‘money creates taste’,

‘a lot of professionals are crackpots’,

‘enjoy yourself because you can't change anything anyway’,

‘freedom is a luxury not a necessity’,

‘don't place too much trust in experts’.


Often the work presents both explicit content and minimalist aesthetics that make profound statements about the world of advertising and consumer society today. The slogans mimic advertising slogans through objects commonly used in advertising for example electric billboards, coffee mugs, posters. Holzer questions what our eyes can see and what we cannot see in the media. Do consumers today actually have any control over the information that is provided to them?

In 1982, she blazed the slogans across a giant advertising billboard in Times Square, New York. The Truisms are deliberately challenging, presenting a spectrum of contradictory opinions. She wanted to sharpen peoples awareness of the 'usual baloney they are fed' in daily life.

Holzer has displayed the truth for everyone to see. It is there in black and white. Showing the truth in public spaces, how do people cope and react to it? Can people handle the truth or have we become a world that is based on lies and mistrust?


Truisms 1984

Metal, plastic and electronic components object, 169 x 1539 x 162 mm
sculpture