 |
| 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
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html
Article written by AUTHOR_NAME
WRITE_ABOUT_YOURSELF
Follow YOUR_NAME on Twitter
4 comments:
I like how you have identified the style of font Kruger has used in both pieces as being "bold italic san-serif" and how you have recognised the style of text as one of the major contributing factors to the advertising appeal of the images. It is an interesting acknowledgement you've made, as I am led to believe that Kruger's work often bases around exposing and communicating her personal concerns and ideas. And with this strong style of text she has incorporated, she has created somewhat of a "bold" approach for the message she is trying to convey to her viewers.
I like how you talked about the use of the font and the punctuation etc and how you said that it made the 2 pieces look like an advertisement. Because Kruger in a way is trying to advertise something, not a product but her opinion.
I also like how you identified how Kruger uses the same ideas for most of her work, eg the font, colour scheme and 2 toned images. I like how you talked about it because its something that makes Kruger's work so distinctive and it was definitely worth mentioning.
I find it interesting how you made the connection between her "Chessboard" sculpture and "Your body is a battleground". It seems that a lot of her work, despite her change in media, comes full circle in their heavy messages and execution. This almost comes across as an entrapment in itself because of how political and evocative her works are, further emphasised by the idea of conflict on the body and mind which she shows in these two pieces.
"he has provoked the viewer’s thoughts in interesting ways." At fist when looking at R. Mueck's sculptures, I merely thought of him as a student whom couldn't get enough of life drawing, so decided to make sculpture of which he could touch. A different atmosphere than having a nude drawing in the gallery.
"‘There is a psychological confrontation between these two contradictory realities, the effort to deceive by perfection, and the obvious discrepancy of scale" But later research, accompanied my thoughts into the assumption of his sculptures being more than a over-size boy or a nude lady with a baby, but it was just reality. Been created into a larger scale or to a smaller distinct in order to gain your &our attention :)
Post a Comment