Modern Art Oxford: Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger at Modern Art Oxford until 31 August 2014

'Through ironic appropriation of specific slogans and imagery, Kruger deploys the visual strategies of mass communication in order to challenge the often manipulative logic at work in the language of advertising, television and other media and the role of Western consumerist culture.'

'Kruger’s investigation of rhetoric is further intensified by the work’s loud graphic style of which the artist says “I attempt to investigate the complex inter-relationships between power and society, but as for the visual presentation itself, I try to avoid a high degree of difficulty. I would like for people to be drawn directly in the work.”'

'While the exhibition addresses ideas of value and consumerism, this work also presents a more philosophical trajectory, confronting the viewer with questions and declarations such as, “IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT PAIN?” “IS THAT ALL THERE IS?” and “THE BRUTAL RELENTLESS FEARFUL END OF IT ALL.” The repeated motif of an emoticon – a hallmark of smartphone and social media communication – references the explosion of digital culture across online and mobile platforms and the influence of these technologies on our lives.'

'Kruger’s work is primarily concerned with the machinations of power in contemporary life. Through ironic appropriation of specific slogans and imagery, she deploys the visual strategies of mass media in order to subvert the often manipulative logic at work in the language of advertising, television and other media. Kruger’s use of both declarative statements and the imperative, what she terms ‘direct address’, is a consistent tactic throughout her work. This mode of address is utilised not only to grab the viewer’s attention but also to implicate us in the work’s content, forcing us to confront and question familiar social and cultural orthodoxies.'

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Barbara Kruger at Modern Art Oxford.