Barbara Kruger & Mercantillism

I shop therefore I am (1987) Barbara Kruger

Face It (Green) 2007 Barbara Kruger

The 'style' that Kruger has used in the two presented works.

The style that Kruger has presented in these two works has been very graphic design driven. The use of two toned/black & white photos and the laid out bold blocks with bold italic san-serif text make it seem as if it was a advertisement. Her use of words like 'i' and using exclamation marks make it even more engaging with the viewer as if it was a advertisement alongside having a conceptual theme.

What are some of the concepts and messages that Kruger is communicating in them?

I think the message Kruger is trying to communicate for her piece "I Shop Therefore I Am" is about how people identify themselves and perceive other people there status by there worldly possessions and in her piece "Face It" I think she is expressing the concept of having certain things will make you appear beautiful and rich. Generally I think she is expressing her thoughts on being materialistic in todays society.

Do these images communicate these ideas effectively?

I think these images do communicate there idea effectively by being presented similar to a advertisement itself. Following the same principals used in advertisement it coincides with the idea of consumerism in a ironic way which i find makes these works more interesting and a bit more cheeky. These images are very straight forward in terms of there aesthetics but the conceptual thought behind every element is well thought out.

Define the concept of Mercantilism and explain how these two examples can connect with the concept.

Mercantillism is "a economic nationalism for the purpose of building a wealthy and powerful state. Adam Smith coined the term “mercantile system” to describe the system of political economy that sought to enrich the country by restraining imports and encouraging exports." ("Library of Economics and Liberty" 2008). with this new way of thinking in the 16th century a realization came about. Merchants could obtain personal wealth in following the concept of mercantilism and rise in social class. These wealthy merchants would symbolise there wealth having portraits done showcasing there wealth and possession. With that, Kruger may challenge the audience how materialistic we can be and how we can define ourselves in the worldly possessions we have.

How do you think the audience would experience this work?

Untitled - Chessboard (2006) Barbara Kruger

I think if the audience is familiar with Krugers other works they would think this may be a reference to her piece 'your body is a battleground' which is a image of a women who on one side is a normal black and white image and the other side is the negative of that. With this piece it correlates with a chessboard very well aswell as a representation of a battleground on top of a picture of a face.

You are able to tell it is her work still however because she still follows the futura condensed font, colour schemes and two tone images. Having its own case it also looks like a product more then a sculture because it has some functionality to. You could easily use it to play chess. I think it is still very graphic design driven but applied to a 3d medium which defines the concept even more to the audience.

Reference List:

Library of Economics & Liberty (2008). Laura LaHaye
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html