Artist Research: Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger

     Barbara Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey. She attended Syracuse University, the School of Visual Arts. She also worked with Diane Arbus. Diane was a lady who influenced Barbara in that she took pictures of irregular people such as midgets, nude people, and circus people. This is sort of what Kruger does. While in her design job, she was promoted to head designer because she was working under Mademoiselle Magazine. After that job she worked in graphic designer, art director and picture editor for the art department “House and Home”.

     Barbara layers photos that she found and inserts aggressive text in it that talks about things she strongly feels about such as feminism, consumerism, and desire. It’s funny because she talks about being led like consumerism. People buy items because it is advertised and that is what the magazines that she works for does. They try to sell people things such as alcohol, cigarettes, and food. Some of her internationally renowned work has slogans such as: “I shop, therefore I am”, and “Your body is a Battleground”.   Mostly all of her pictures are black and white, but it gives her pictures a rustic look and can really bring out the message she is trying to send. Kruger’s work has appeared on billboards, buscards, posters, public parks, a train station platform in France, and in other public places. She also teaches. She taught at the California Institute of Art, The School of Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkely. She now lives in New York and Los Angeles. Here are some pictures she has done. Hope you enjoy!