Barbara Kruger’s A Way with Words provides the audience a striking and immersive world through the lens of Graphic Design, unapologetically viewable from every upper story of the Museum of Modern Art. The combination of the crisp sans-serif type, black-and-white design, and the sheer size of this installation is hard to miss in contrast to the rest of the gallery exhibitions. Kruger plays with the eye through the variations in direction and type treatment, wrapping all sides of the room to mesmerize the user that is directly within the artwork. She also makes use of horizontal and vertical space, adding dimensionality to the walls through the use of circles and pillars, and adding a hint of color through the green “x” icons that mark specific words. The assertive nature causes the user to look everywhere where there are always words to read, even at their footsteps. Contrastingly, when the audience explores other sections of the museum, there are long, narrow windows that allow individuals to peek into the space. The parallels between what we can see within and out of the exhibition, including some of the language of “you”, “unseen”, and “invisible” that lie on the walls, engulf the user before, during, and even after the experience. Never cautious about pushing the boundaries, Kruger’s blunt text treatment invites conversations about feminism, individualism, and consumerism within her work. Interestingly, the audience within this space look extremely small when viewed from the top floor, erasing any trace of individualism as they become a part of the work itself. Time seems to stop in this static space, and the play in dimensionality within the work is certainly memorable, regardless of age or gender.
I'm glad you're emphasizing the massive scale of Kruger's work, when reading your review after having seen the exhibition myself, I found that your description might be a bit confusing for those who have not gotten to experience it. It might be helpful to incorporate information about how Kruger set up this installation. You could also include a bit more historical context about Kruger's work in the past as it seems very much related.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you described the scale and set up of the exhibit. I was also really struck by how the exhibit could be viewed from other windows throughout the museum as well. I think maybe you could mention how these windows throughout the museum also contributes to Kruger's ideas about surveillance and voyeurism. Part of my experience with this exhibit was being able to look down at all the people looking at the exhibit. I also agree with Moira that it would have been nice to hear more about Krueger herself.
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