“Advertising Art That Advertises Itself As Art That Hates Advertising”: Jenny Holzer and the Truisms of Times Square
Abstract
Theory of art in the Cold War years and onward, for the most part, highlighted the question of art’s relevance to social-political issues. Aspects of art and theory of the 1950s and 1960s posed the question whether art could instigate a revolutionary transformation of society or not. Theorists and artists who confirmed the popularization of culture chose to deal with explicitly human and cultural themes and/or with the identifiable forms of an explicitly contemporary culture. In this respect Jenny Holzer fits the type of artist engaged with historic and social conditions namely the post-war years in the U.S. , and one who integrates her work with urban architecture in order to reach the populace more directly. Hence, this study offers an observation of how Jenny Holzer’s work TRUISMS sets a successful example of how the popularization and/or politicization of art may allow for an awakening of the masses and consequently even a transformation of society
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