Barbara
Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945. She studied
at the Syracuse School of Visual Arts. Upon completion
she was a student of Diane Arbus at Parson’s School of
Design in New York. She began her career working for madomoiselle
magazine where she was promoted to head designer. Her
background in design is evident in the work for which
she is now internationally renowned.
She layers found photographs from existing sources with
pithy and aggressive text that involves the viewer in
the struggle for power and control that her captions speak
to. In their trademark black letters against a slash of
red background, some of her instantly recognizable slogans
read “I shop therefore I am,” and “Your body is a battleground."
Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism,
classicism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire.
She has taught at the California Institute of Art, The
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University
of California, Berkeley. She lives in New York and Los
Angeles.
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