(Gallipolis, Ohio, 1950 - )
2012
Array of five double-sided LED Signs with stainless steel housings: blue and green diodes on front, red and yellow diodes on back
103 1/2 x 95 x 103 1/2 in. (262.9 x 241.3 x 262.9 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Purchased with funds from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Museum Acquisition Fund
2018.14
In the 1970s Jenny Holzer began papering lower Manhattan with posters bearing selections from her Truisms series— slogan-like sayings suggestive of a universal truth, such as THE ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE. Known for these conceptual, text-based works that question consumerism and challenge power dynamics, Holzer intends to provoke critical dialog through her use of language. Presented here on a series of scrolling LED arrays, the potent passages read almost as advertisements or tweets, echoing our modern modes of communication.