The Truth Hurts.
It’s a common phrase that we all have heard. It’s technically even a truism. It’s a phrase that popped into my head as I read through the Jenny Holzer truisms, and looked at the online gallery. All of her work held truth.
However the pieces that stood out in my mind were three selections from her gallery that were selections from Survival Series.
The first reads: “PUT FOOD OUT IN THE SAME PLACE EVERY DAY AND TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO EAT AND ORGAINIZE THEM”
The second simply says: “REMEMBER TO REACT.”
The third, and the most striking to me, reads: “IF YOU’RE CONSIDERED USELESS, NO ONE WILL FEED YOU ANYMORE”
While all three are pretty simple pieces, black, aluminum plaques with stark white lettering in all caps, and the phrases upon them seem simple, they are truly truisms that are anything but. The social commentary embedded in each piece of art is enormous. In this Survival Series, Holzer is commenting on our society, noting the “every-man-for-himself” world we live in.
She is speaking to us, human beings, like animals in the wild. However, even her medium screams that the subject she is speaking to is an animal. The aluminum plaques remind me of the “DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS” signs at the zoo.
I’ve included one of these signs to this blog post because I want to know what you feel when you look at it. For me personally, I felt a little offended and a little scared, but I think that is exactly what Holzer wanted.
I really love the picture that you posted. The zoo animal analogy is really interesting, and I wouldn't have thought of it, but you are completely right. I like the analogy, because, to me, it implies that humans are not more than just glorified animals. It is kind of eerie to think of people in that way, but I think that's the feeling that Holzer is trying to invoke.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eileen the zoo analogy is very thoughtful. I'm very impressed with that analysis.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you above. Many of these truisms are hard for us to think about. It shows how thoughtful each truism is.
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