Artist Barbara Kruger, Critic of Capitalism, Has a Market Moment
If she were judged by exposure alone, Barbara Kruger would be the most successful artist alive. Now 77, she came to fame by superimposing white Futura type on a red background over appropriated imagery: Her most famous work is probably a hand holding the words “I shop therefore I am,” from 1987.
"Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, her 1989 image of a woman’s face with the words “Your body is a battleground” has been reprinted in newspapers and shared widely across social media. “Next to Warhol,” says Mary Boone, who represented Kruger until shutting her gallery in 2019, “there’s not another artist, aside from perhaps Cindy Sherman, who’s been as influential for what things look like and how people see the world as Barbara.”
Her greatest influence is largely unattributed: The billion-dollar streetwear brand Supreme uses Kruger’s font of choice and color scheme for its logo, which it slaps on hoodies, harmonicas, and a host of other merchandise. Even if Kruger herself doesn’t consider the font and color scheme hers, publications such as the Hollywood Reporter and the New Yorker have noted the influence.
New York Times critic Jon Caramanica says Supreme “hoisted” the red bar/white text aesthetic from her. (Kruger publicly addressed this influence in 2013, when Supreme sued another company for copying its logo. “What a ridiculous clusterf--- of totally uncool jokers,” Kruger commented to the site Complex. “I make my work about this kind of sadly foolish farce. I’m waiting for all of them to sue me for copyright infringement.”)" — James Tarmy, July 27, 2022
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Bloomberg website.
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