Barbara Kruger: Conceptual Artist

It's the year 1984. As you walk down a crowded New York street, you can't help but stop and stare at the world around you. There's one particular image that stands out to you through. It's a large, black and white poster of a woman looking into a broken mirror. The words "You are not yourself" are written across it in bold cut-out letters. You stop to think to yourself about the possible meanings of this poster. It shows the apparent work of a feminist sowing women's struggle with her own self-image. Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist as well as a transformational leader, states Wikipedia (1). She uses her work to make people think about the serious issues in society today. Her work is in many common places for the view of the public eye. Kruger provokes people with her direct messages and bold images. She has worked in collaboration with other artists as well as galleries and museums. Barbara has also written several books. In her book Remote Control: Power, Culture, and the World of Appearances, she explains how she views art and society. It states that popular culture does not have the ability to do certain things. We must do things for ourselves and not rely on society to do it for us. She has amazing ideas that people should really listen to and take to heart. Society would be better off if we all took a little more time to think about what was going on in the world around us, according to Kruger. There were many things that happened in Barbara Kruger's early life that led her to where she is today. She was born on January 26, 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. She attended the School of Visual Arts at Syracuse University for one year before moving on to Parson's School of Design in New York. This is where she studied with Diane Arbus and Marvin Israel who introduced her to photography and fashion subcultures. According to Susan Sollins, editor of Art:21, Kruger supported herself by doing graphic design for magazines, book jacket designs, and

Cited: Kruger, Barbara. Remote Control: Power, Cultures, and the World of Appearances. Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1993. "Barbara Kruger: Biography." The Guggenheim Museum Online. 2007. Guggenheim Museum. 8 February 2008. <www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/art ist_bio_81.html> This particular article was written by the Solomon R "Barbara Kruger." World 's Women On-Line. 1995. World 's Women On-Line. 5 February 2008 <http://wwol.inre.asu.edu/kruger.html> "Barbara Kruger." Whitney Museum of American Art Online "Barbara Kruger." Wikipedia. 2008. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 12 February 2008 "Barbara Kruger." School of Art and Design. Ed. Julia Donovan Darlow. 2007. University of Michigan "Barbara Kruger: Biography." Art:21 Online. Ed. Susan Sollins. 2007. Art:21. 12 February 2008