Jenny Holzer at the Tate Modern
To get some inspiration for the coming project, I took a trip to the Tate Modern to see the Jenny Holzer exhibition. What I found particularly interesting about Holzers work is her investigation into the everyday that we encounter through language. By taking phrases from textbooks and placing them out of context they are forced to stand alone. I think this allows us in some way to understand them differently or to have a new lens on the reality of the messages that we use in everyday language, clichés and maxims.
Holzer prints wallpaper with the sayings that surround you in a small enclosed space. this made me think about the power of language. She spatially grounds the way we use language in different ways throughout the exhibition, which allows different reflections of the same phrases in different contexts. perhaps this is mirroring the way that we respond to different tones, people speaking, printed language differently.
Her collection of printed plaques that line another room of the exhibition are a continuation of her 'Truisms' collection. These texts offer more political statements. Perhaps it is because they are made into plaques but they appear more like solemn realities that are never talked about but are commonly known to be true. There is something quite bold about the way her work visualises these everyday realities. It reminds me of Judith Butlers work on grievable bodies. Butler explores the idea that only certain bodies and realities are deemed worthy to be grieved in death as a continuation of the violence of marginalised people not being recognised in life.
To get some inspiration for the coming project, I took a trip to the Tate Modern to see the Jenny Holzer exhibition. What I found particularly interesting about Holzers work is her investigation into the everyday that we encounter through language. By taking phrases from textbooks and placing them out of context they are forced to stand alone. I think this allows us in some way to understand them differently or to have a new lens on the reality of the messages that we use in everyday language, clichés and maxims.
Holzer prints wallpaper with the sayings that surround you in a small enclosed space. this made me think about the power of language. She spatially grounds the way we use language in different ways throughout the exhibition, which allows different reflections of the same phrases in different contexts. perhaps this is mirroring the way that we respond to different tones, people speaking, printed language differently.
Her collection of printed plaques that line another room of the exhibition are a continuation of her 'Truisms' collection. These texts offer more political statements. Perhaps it is because they are made into plaques but they appear more like solemn realities that are never talked about but are commonly known to be true. There is something quite bold about the way her work visualises these everyday realities. It reminds me of Judith Butlers work on grievable bodies. Butler explores the idea that only certain bodies and realities are deemed worthy to be grieved in death as a continuation of the violence of marginalised people not being recognised in life.
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