The Big Picture
Even if you have never heard of Barbara Kruger, the chances are high you know her work. Her graphic, provocative, slogan-based images were a gateway to feminism in the Eighties and Nineties, a portal through which generations of women developed an inclination to question their place in the world. In the social media-powered 2010s and unfolding 2020s, her work has taken on a new relevance and urgency, rising in popularity as male violence against women, abortion rights and the pay gap became increasingly critical global issues. As the world reacted to the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v Wade Stateside and, months later, watched huge protests unfold around the killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran, Kruger’s prescient words about gender, race, class and consumerism reappeared in our feeds, warning us in Futura bold type: ‘Your body is a battleground’.
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Elle website.
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