Introduction
Jenny
Holzer, had a different way of looking at the world. In learning about her and
her art, and how her art has affected us, try a new way of learning, use the
power of the Internet. The links below will get you started.
Jenny Holzer is an abstract painter who turned to language to
paint ideas. Her one-line works have appeared on posters, t-shirts, park
benches, large-scale public spaces, and even commercial television.
Jenny
Holzer was a visionary artist. Her subjects included topics that were taboo:
sex, violence and family problems. She is known for displaying her work on
T-shirts, walls, posters, signs, and benches.
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Jenny Holzer was born July 29, 1950, in Gallipolis, Ohio. She
received a B.F.A. in printmaking and painting from Ohio University, Athens,
in 1972, and in 1975, she entered the M.F.A. painting program at the Rhode
Island School of Design in Providence. While there, she began to introduce
language into her work. Holzer moved to New York after earning her degree at
R.I.S.D. in 1977, and enrolled in the Independent Study Program at the
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. That year, she created her first
all-text works, the Truisms series, printing them on paper, which she
pasted up anonymously around the city. Holzer has been the recipient of several important awards, including the Blair Award, presented by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982 and the Leone d’Oro award for best pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1990. In addition to the numerous solo and group exhibitions in which her work has appeared, Holzer has created many public projects, among them a Truisms display on the Spectacolor Board in Times Square in 1982, sponsored by the Public Art Fund, and a series of public spots for MTV in 1989. She has also published several books, including A Little Knowledge (1979); Black Book (1980); Hotel (with Peter Nadin, 1980); Living (with Nadin, 1980); Eating Friends (with Nadin, 1981); Eating Through Living (with Nadin, 1981); and Truisms and Essays (1983). |
Jenny Holzer (USA)
THE BENCHES - or, 10 stone objects
provided with a commentary
from the "TRUISMS" and "TEXTS ON SURVIVAL"
 Exhibition opening 28.05, 5.30 p.m. Curator: Wojciech Krukowski Co-operation: Marta Pejda |
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shirts. Among the best known Holzer projects are the grand ones where durable, 'classically' expressed records of the maxims, chiselled out in the surfaces of stony benches, mingle with ephemeral, motion electronic inscriptions running all over the surfaces of walls.
Aphorisms used by the artist are taken from the sphere of 'received views', proverbs, sayings, fixed ('stock') phrases, all referring to conventional ways of thinking and stereotypical convictions functioning within the contemporary society. Combined in vast amounts and put in the alphabetical order, as it is with the Truisms cycle, they disclose a lack of coherence, a chaotic nature, and, contradictorinesses of ideologies and value systems accepted by a post-industrial society.
Simultaneously, Jenny Holzer touches upon - not infrequently, ironically - the urgent problems of Western civilisation, such as any forms of discrimination, the madness of consumption, or, the issues of immigration or cosmopolitanism. She has pursued project of this sort on the entire space of the Guggenheim Museum (1989) and within the confines of the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennial (winner of the Grand Prix 1990).
Exhibition opening 28.05.1999 - "Benches" - 10 stone
objects.
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"TRUISMS" : http://imoax1.unimo.it/demo/Tru.html
The Holzer file
Her Favorite Pieces
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Early
"Truisms" street art from the late 1970s in New York City, where she
got by with jobs as a waitress and typesetter and "periodic bailouts"
from her mother ("I salute her," she says).
· LED display
for the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao, Spain, and New York City.
A Key Milestone
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Selection in 1990 as
the artist to represent the United States at the XLIV Biennale di Venezia in
Venice, Italy, where she won grand prize for best pavilion.
Remaining Ties to Ohio
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An aunt in Gallipolis
and a cousin in Columbus.
View of Campus Today
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"It's just nice to
see the university looking so well. It seems a going concern, to the point of
the grounds looking great. It seems active and healthy."
Artist. Philosopher. Agitator. Free spirit.
One might offer these words to describe Jenny Holzer. Yet slipping a single label on the person seems almost as ludicrous as trying to tuck her life's work into one of those neat little categories many of us think of as art.
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Holzer
while on campus this fall
Photo: Rick Fatica |
Her work literally has illuminated venues as diverse as the new Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, Times Square in New York and Slate online magazine. Now, it also can be found in Ohio University's Gordy Hall, where students enter the building under a large LED display recessed in the ceiling, read or chat on granite benches in the first-floor hallway and congregate at a banquet-size table on a patio facing South Green and the hills beyond.
Both art forms -- the table and benches in carved block letters and the black and red LED in streaming sentences translated into several languages -- bear one-line statements, or "Truisms," Holzer began writing in the late 1970s. It's man's fate to outsmart himself. Revolution begins with changes in the individual. One of Holzer's personal favorites: Abuse of power comes as no surprise. And one she hears is raising eyebrows on campus: A lot of professionals are crackpots.
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A projection from Holzer's anti-war
installation in Leipzig, Germany.
Photo courtesy of Jenny Holzer |
Holzer's work attracted the attention of the university's Percent for Art Committee when plans were being drawn up for the $10.6 million renovation and expansion of Gordy Hall to house language-oriented programs. The panel of on- and off-campus representatives selects works to enhance new or renovated university buildings under a program requiring that state-funded construction projects of $4 million or more devote 1 percent of the money to art.
"The fact that Jenny uses language as part of her art is very appropriate for Gordy Hall," says Pam Parker, assistant vice president for external relations and chair of the committee. "We selected her because she is one of the top artists in the world today. It was a very nice coincidence that she is an Ohio University alumna."
A native of Gallipolis who grew up in Lancaster, Holzer visited Athens often as a child to see her grandparents. She spent two years at Duke University and one at the University of Chicago studying "pre-law or whatever else I was not doing at the time."
"I took summer art classes at Ohio University because I was trying to decide if I was going to let myself do art," Holzer says. She did, and she spent her senior year immersed in the study of painting and printmaking in Seigfred Hall. Holzer earned a master of fine arts degree in 1977 from the Rhode Island School of Design, where her experiences prompt her to reflect even more fondly on her time at OU.
"What I particularly enjoyed here was that the teachers were challenging, but very accepting of experimentation, which is perfect for artists. Artists must feel that they can and should explore any and everything," Holzer says. "I missed Ohio University when I went to graduate school. Too many faculty members were the exact opposite. They had a program that you had to subscribe to, say a certain sort of painting, to be in their estimation a good artist. I found that enormously restrictive and destructive after what I experienced here."
An almost quiet person with none of the cockiness one might expect of an artist whose work is sought for exhibitions and installations around the world, Holzer makes her home in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. There, so "Upstate New York" it's almost in Vermont, she lives with her husband, Mike Glier, and 10-year-old daughter, Lili. Asked if she has advice for today's artists in the making, Holzer pauses, then responds: "What I did accidentally was actually helpful. A dose of liberal arts -- a broad education in addition to your art education -- is extremely useful. Much good art, I would even say most good art, relies very heavily on a subject matter. So it's important to know what you think."
Holzer obviously does.
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Jenny
Holzer - Green Table
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 Jenny Holzer
talks about Text
vs. Image (sound only, 400K) |
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Truisms Survival, 1983-1985 |
Although
best known for her arresting and contradictory texts, and her skillful
manipulation of mass media channels -- ranging from text-laden,
light-emitting diode (LED) signs to street posters, plaques, and even brief
television spots -- Jenny Holzer has demonstrated significant skill in
conceiving and implementing site-specific installations. Her transformation
of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York into a moving spiral of electronic
information and her widely praised pavilion at the Venice Biennale, composed
of LEDs, benches and inscribed marble floors, have fused the text-be it a
declaration, a challenge or a lament-with the architecture and sculpture. For the Stuart Collection, Holzer has created Green Table, a large granite picnic or refectory table and benches inscribed with texts. Several temporary projects were placed throughout the campus as well; some remnants remain. Like many of the works in the Stuart Collection, Holzer's table and benches, sited in the Muir College quad, monumentalize an ordinary and functional set of objects. Like all tables, Holzer's work serve as an informal gathering place for students and faculty to eat, talk, or study. Unlike the typical table, however, it is inscribed with texts on the top and sides of both table and benches. The various attitudes Holzer adopts in her writings-from humorous commentary to politically charged criticism-transform an ordinary gathering place into a site of questioning and debate. The temporary component of Holzer's project for the Stuart Collection included texts on existing LED message machines and inserted onto the Central Library computer, television ads, a series of cast aluminum plaques and poster installations throughout the campus. Holzer's art came to prominence in the late 1970s and early eighties when she began to plaster posters of her "Truism" series throughout the streets of New York. This contradictory list, arranged in alphabetical order, seemed like a catalogue of cliches, but was, in fact, written and orchestrated by Holzer. The "Truism" dramatized a depersonalized and amoral information landscape throughout juxtapositions. Holzer has since produced a variety of texts with points of view ranging from inflammatory manifesto to feminist or parental concern to bleak resignation, In all of her work she links ideological statements with the forms and meanings of architecture. |
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JENNY HOLZER'S TRUISMS
A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE
CAN GO A LONG WAY
A LOT OF PROFESSIONALS
ARE CRACKPOTS
A MAN CAN'T KNOW
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A MOTHER
A NAME MEANS A LOT
JUST BY ITSELF
A POSITIVE
ATTITUDE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
A RELAXED MAN IS
NOT NECESSARILY A BETTER MAN
A SENSE A TIMING
IS THE MARK OF GENIUS
A SINCERE EFFORT
IS ALL YOU CAN ASK
A SINGLE EVENT CAN
HAVE INFINITELY MANY INTERPRETATIONS
A SOLID HOME BASE
BUILDS A SENSE OF SELF
A STRONG SENSE OF
DUTY IMPRISONS YOU
ABSOLUTE
SUBMISSION CAN BE A FORM OF FREEDOM
ABSTRACTION IS A
TYPE OF DECADENCE
ABUSE OF POWER
COMES AS NO SURPRISE
ACTION CAUSES MORE
TROUBLE THAN THOUGHT
ALIENATION
PRODUCES ECCENTRICS OR REVOLUTIONARIES
ALL THINGS ARE
DELICATELY INTERCONNECTED
AMBITION IS JUST
AS DANGEROUS AS COMPLACENCY
AMBIVALENCE CAN
RUIN YOUR LIFE
AN ELITE IS
INEVITABLE
ANGER OR HATE CAN
BE A USEFUL MOTIVATING FORCE
ANIMALISM IS
PERFECTLY HEALTHY
ANY SURPLUS IS
IMMORAL
ANYTHING IS A
LEGITIMATE AREA OF INVESTIGATION
ARTIFICIAL DESIRES
ARE DESPOILING THE EARTH
AT TIMES
INACTIVITY IS PREFERABLE TO MINDLESS FUNCTIONING
AT TIMES YOUR
UNCONSCIOUS IS TRUER THAN YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND
AUTOMATION IS
DEADLY
AWFUL PUNISHMENT
AWAITS REALLY BAD PEOPLE
BAD INTENTIONS CAN
YIELD GOOD RESULTS
BEING ALONE WITH
YOURSELF IS INCREASINGLY UNPOPULAR
BEING HAPPY IS
MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE
BEING HONEST IS
NOT ALWAYS THE KINDEST WAY
BEING JUDGMENTAL
IS A SIGN OF LIFE
BEING SURE OF
YOURSELF MEANS YOU'RE A FOOL
BELIEVING IN
REBIRTH IS THE SAME AS ADMITTING DEFEAT
BOREDOM MAKES YOU
DO CRAZY THINGS
CALM IS MORE CONDUCIVE
TO CREATIVITY THAN IS ANXIETY
CATEGORIZING FEAR
IS CALMING
CHANGE IS VALUABLE
WHEN THE OPPRESSED BECOME TYRANTS
CHASING THE NEW IS
DANGEROUS TO SOCIETY
CHILDREN ARE THE
CRUELEST OF ALL
CHILDREN ARE THE
HOPE OF THE FUTURE
CLASS ACTION IS A
NICE IDEA WITH NO SUBSTANCE
CLASS STRUCTURE IS
AS ARTIFICIAL AS PLASTIC
CONFUSING YOURSELF
IS A WAY TO STAY HONEST
CRIME AGAINST
PROPERTY IS RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT
DECADENCE CAN BE
AN END IT ITSELF
DECENCY IS A
RELATIVE THING
DEPENDENCE CAN BE
A MEAL TICKET
DESCRIPTION IS
MORE VALUABLE THAN METAPHOR
DEVIANTS ARE
SACRIFICED TO INCREASE GROUP SOLIDARITY
DISGUST IS THE
APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO MOST SITUATIONS
DISORGANIZATION IS
A KIND OF ANESTHESIA
DON'T PLACE TOO
MICH TRUST IN EXPERTS
DON'T RUN PEOPLE'S
LIVES FOR THEM
DRAMA OFTEN
OBSCURES THE REAL ISSUES
DREAMING WHILE
AWAKE IS A FRIGHTENING CONTRADICTION
DYING AND COMING
BACK GIVES YOU CONSIDERABLE PERSPECTIVE
DYING SHOULD BE
EASY AS FALLING OFF A LOG
EATING TOO MUCH IS
CRIMINAL
ELABORATION IS A FORM
OF POLLUTION
EMOTIONAL
RESPONSES ARE AS VALUABLE AS INTELLECTUAL ESPONSES
ENJOY YOURSELF
BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CHANGE ANYTHING ANYWAY
ENSURE THAT YOUR
LIFE STAYS IS FLUX
EVEN YOUR FAMILY
CAN BETRAY YOU
EVERY ACHIEVEMENT
REQUIRES A SACRIFICE
EVERYONE'S WORK IS
EQUALLY IMPORTANT
EVERYTHING THAT'S
INTERESTING IS NEW
EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE
DESERVE SPECIAL CONCESSIONS
EXPIRING FOR LOVE
IS BEAUTIFUL BUT STUPID
EXPRESSING ANGER
IS NECESSARY
EXTREME BEHAVIOR
HAS ITS BASIS IN PATHOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
EXTREME
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS LEADS TO PERVERSION
FAITHFULNESS IS A
SOCIAL NOT A BIOLOGICAL LAW
FAKE OR REAL
INDIFFERENCE IS A POWERFUL PERSONAL WEAPON
FATHERS OFTEN USE
TOO MUCH FORCE
FEAR IS THE
GREATEST INCAPACITATOR
FREEDOM IS A
LUXURY NOT A NECESSITY
GIVING FREE REIN
TO YOUR EMOTIONS IS AN HONEST WAY TO LIVE
GO ALL OUT IN
ROMANCE AND LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY
GOING WITH THE
FLOW IS SOOTHING BUT RISKY
GOOD DEEDS
EVENTUALLY ARE REWARDED
GOVERNMENT IS A
BURDEN ON THE PEOPLE
GRASS ROOTS
AGITATION IS THE ONLY HOPE
GUILT AND
SELF-LACERATION ARE INDULGENCES
HABITUAL CONTEMPT
DOESN'T REFLECT A FINER SENSIBILITY
HIDING YOUR
MOTIVES IS DESPICABLE
HOLDING BACK
PROTECTS YOUR VITAL ENERGIES
HUMANISM IS
OBSOLETE
HUMOR IS A RELEASE
IDEALS ARE
REPLACED BY CONVENTIONAL GOALS AT A CERTAIN AGE
IF YOU AREN'T
POLITICAL YOUR PERSONAL LIFE SHOULD BE XEMPLARY
IF YOU CAN'T LEAVE
YOUR MARK GIVE UP
IF YOU HAVE MANY
DESIRES LIFE WILL BE INTERESTING
IF YOU LIVE SIMPLY
THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
IGNORING ENEMIES
IS THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT
ILLNESS IS A STATE
OF MIND
IMPOSING ORDER IS
MAN'S VOCATION FOR CHAOS IS HELL
IN SOME INSTANCES
IT'S BETTER TO DIE THAN TO CONTINUE
INHERITANCE MUST
BE ABOLISHED
IT CAN BE HELPFUL
TO KEEP GOING NO MATTER WHAT
IT IS HEROIC TO
TRY TO STOP TIME
IT IS MAN'S FATE
TO OUTSMART HIMSELF
IT'S A GIFT TO THE
WORLD NOT TO HAVE BABIES
IT'S BETTER TO BE
A GOOD PERSON THAN A FAMOUS PERSON
IT'S BETTER TO BE
LONELY THAN TO BE WITH INFERIOR PEOPLE
IT'S BETTER TO BE
NAIVE THAN JADED
IT'S BETTER TO
STUDY THE LIVING FACT THAN TO ANALYZE HISTORY
IT'S CRUCIAL TO
HAVE AN ACTIVE FANTASY LIFE
IT'S GOOD TO GIVE
EXTRA MONEY TO CHARITY
IT'S IMPORTANT TO
STAY CLEAN ON ALL LEVELS
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO
RECONCILE YOUR HEART AND HEAD
IT'S JUST AN ACCIDENT
YOUR PARENTS ARE YOUR PARENTS
IT'S NOT GOOD TO
HOLD TOO MANY ABSOLUTES
IT'S NOT GOOD TO
OPERATE ON CREDIT
IT'S VITAL TO LIVE
IN HARMONY WITH NATURE
JUST BELIEVING
SOMETHING CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN
KEEP SOMETHING IN
RESERVE FOR EMERGENCIES
KILLING IS
UNAVOIDABLE BUT IS NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF
KNOWING YOURSELF
LETS YOU UNDERSTAND OTHERS
KNOWLEDGE SHOULD
BE ADVANCED AT ALL COSTS
LABOR IS A
LIFE-DESTROYING ACTIVITY
LACK OF CHARISMA
CAN BE FATAL
LEARN THINGS FROM
THE GROUND UP
LEARN TO TRUST
YOUR OWN EYES
LEISURE TIME IS A
GIGANTIC SMOKESCREEN
LETTING GO IS THE
HARDEST THING TO DO
LISTEN WHEN YOUR
BODY TALKS
LOOKING BACK IS
THE FIRST SIGN OF AGING AND DECAY
LOVING ANIMALS IS
A SUBSTITUTE ACTIVITY
LOW EXPECTATIONS
ARE GOOD PROTECTION
MANUAL LABOR CAN
BE REFRESHING AND WHOLESOME
MEN ARE NOT
MONOGAMOUS BY NATURE
MODERATION KILLS
THE SPIRIT
MONEY CREATES
TASTE
MONOMANIA IS A
PREREQUISITE OF SUCCESS
MORALS ARE FOR
LITTLE PEOPLE
MOST PEOPLE ARE
NOT FIT TO RULE THEMSELVES
MOSTLY YOU SHOULD
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
MOTHERS SHOULDN'T
MAKE TOO MANY SACRIFICES
MUCH WAS DECIDED
BEFORE YOU WERE BORN
MURDER HAS ITS
SEXUAL SIDE
MYTHS MAKE REALITY
MORE INTELLIGIBLE
NOISE CAN BE
HOSTILE
NOTHING UPSETS THE
BALANCE OF GOOD AND EVIL
OCCASIONALLY
PRINCIPLES ARE MORE VALUABLE THAN PEOPLE
OFFER VERY LITTLE
INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF
OFTEN YOU SHOULD
ACT LIKE YOU ARE SEXLESS
OLD FRIENDS ARE
BETTER LEFT IN THE PAST
OPACITY IS AN
IRRESISTIBLE CHALLENGE
PAIN CAN BE A VERY
POSITIVE THING
PEOPLE ARE BORING UNLESS
THEY'RE EXTREMISTS
PEOPLE ARE NUTS IF
THEY THINK THEY ARE IMPORTANT
PEOPLE ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY DO UNLESS THEY'RE NSANE
PEOPLE WHO DON'T
WORK WITH THEIR HANDS ARE PARASITES
PEOPLE WHO GO
CRAZY ARE TOO SENSITIVE
PEOPLE WON'T
BEHAVE IF THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE
PHYSICAL CULTURE
IS SECOND-BEST
PLANNING FOR THE
FUTURE IS ESCAPISM
PLAYING IT SAFE
CAN CAUSE A LOT OF DAMAGE IN THE LONG RUN
POLITICS IS USED
FOR PERSONAL GAIN
POTENTIAL COUNTS
FOR NOTHING UNTIL IT'S REALIZED
PRESENTATION IS AS
IMPORTANT AS CONTENT
PRIVATE PROPERTY
CREATED CRIME
PURSUING PLEASURE
FOR THE SAKE OF PLEASURE WILL RUIN YOU
PUSH YOURSELF TO
THE LIMIT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE
RAISE BOYS AND
GIRLS THE SAME WAY
RANDOM MATING IS
GOOD FOR DEBUNKING SEX MYTHS
RECHANNELING
DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSES IS A SIGN OF MATURITY
RECLUSES ALWAYS
GET WEAK
REDISTRIBUTING
WEALTH IS IMPERATIVE
RELATIVITY IS NO
BOON TO MANKIND
RELIGION CAUSES AS
MANY PROBLEMS AS IT SOLVES
REMEMBER YOU
ALWAYS HAVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE
REPETITION IS THE
BEST WAY TO LEARN
RESOLUTIONS SERVE
TO EASE YOUR CONSCIENCE
REVOLUTION BEGINS
WITH CHANGES IN THE INDIVIDUAL
ROMANTIC LOVE WAS
INVENTED TO MANIPULATE WOMEN
ROUTINE IS A LINK
WITH THE PAST
ROUTINE SMALL
EXCESSES ARE WORSE THAN THE OCCASIONAL EBAUCH
SACRIFICING
YOURSELF FOR A BAD CAUSE IS NOT A MORAL ACT
SALVATION CAN'T BE
BOUGHT AND SOLD
SELF-AWARENESS CAN
BE CRIPPLING
SELF-CONTEMPT CAN
DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD
SELFISHNESS IS THE
MOST BASIC MOTIVATION
SELFLESSNESS IS
THE HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT
SEPARATISM IS THE
WAY TO A NEW BEGINNING
SEX DIFFERENCES
ARE HERE TO STAY
SIN IS A MEANS OF
SOCIAL CONTROL
SLIPPING INTO
MADNESS IS GOOD FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON
SLOPPY THINKING
GETS WORSE OVER TIME
SOLITUDE IS
ENRICHING
SOME STONES ARE
BETTER LEFT UNTURNED
SOME WOUNDS NEVER
HEAL
SOMETIMES ALL YOU
CAN DO IS LOOK THE OTHER WAY
SOMETIMES SCIENCE
ADVANCES FASTER THAN IT SHOULD
SOMETIMES THINGS
SEEM TO HAPPEN OF THEIR OWN ACCORD
SPENDING TOO MUCH
TIME ON SELF-IMPROVEMENT IS ANTISOCIAL
STARVATION IS
NATURE'S WAY
STASIS IS A DREAM
STATE
STERILIZATION IS A
WEAPON OF THE RULERS
STRONG EMOTIONAL
ATTACHMENT STEMS FROM BASIC INSECURITY
STUPID PEOPLE
SHOULDN'T BREED
SURVIVAL OF THE
FITTEST APPLIES TO MEN AND ANIMALS
SYMBOLS ARE MORE
MEANINGFUL THAN THINGS THEMSELVES
TAKING A STRONG
STAND PUBLICIZES THE OPPOSITE POSITION
TALKING IS USED TO
HIDE ONE'S INABILITY TO ACT
TEASING PEOPLE
SEXUALLY CAN HAVE UGLY CONSEQUENCES
TECHNOLOGY WILL
MAKE OR BREAK US
THE CRUELEST
DISAPPOINTMENT IS WHEN YOU LET YOURSELF DOWN
THE DESIRE TO
REPRODUCE IS A DEATH WISH
THE FAMILY IS
LIVING ON BORROWED TIME
THE IDEA OF
REVOLUTION IS AN ADOLESCENT FANTASY
THE IDEA OF
TRANSCENDENCE IS USED TO OBSCURE OPPRESSION
THE IDIOSYNCRATIC
HAS LOST ITS AUTHORITY
THE LAND BELONGS
TO NO ONE
THE MORE YOU KNOW
THE BETTER OFF YOU ARE
THE MOST PROFOUND
THINGS ARE INEXPRESSIBLE
THE MUNDANE IS TO
BE CHERISHED
THE NEW IS NOTHING
BUT A RESTATEMENT OF THE OLD
THE ONLY WAY TO BE
PURE IS TO STAY BY YOURSELF
THE SUM OF YOUR
ACTIONS DETERMINES WHAT YOU ARE
THE UNATTAINABLE
INVARIABLY IS ATTRACTIVE
THE WORLD OPERATES
ACCORDING TO DISCOVERABLE LAWS
THERE ARE TOO FEW
IMMUTABLE TRUTHS TODAY
THERE'S A FINE
LINE BETWEEN INFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA
THERE'S NO SENSE
BEING ANYWHERE BUT THE TOP OF THE HEAP
THERE'S NOTHING
EXCEPT WHAT YOU SENSE
THERE'S NOTHING
REDEEMING IN TOIL
THINKING TOO MUCH
CAN ONLY CAUSE PROBLEMS
THREATENING
SOMEONE SEXUALLY IS A HORRIBLE ACT
TIMIDITY IS
LAUGHABLE
TO DISAGREE
PRESUPPOSES MORAL INTEGRITY
TO VOLUNTEER IS
REACTIONARY
TORTURE IS
BARBARIC
TRADING A LIFE FOR
A LIFE IS FAIR ENOUGH
TRUE FREEDOM IS
FRIGHTFUL
UNIQUE THINGS MUST
BE THE MOST VALUABLE
UNQUESTIONING LOVE
DEMONSTRATES LARGESSE OF SPIRIT
USING FORCE TO
STOP FORCE IS ABSURD
VIOLENCE IS
PERMISSIBLE EVEN DESIRABLE OCCASIONALLY
WAR IS A
PURIFICATION RITE
WE MUST MAKE
SACRIFICES TO MAINTAIN OUR QUALITY OF LIFE
WHEN SOMETHING
TERRIBLE HAPPENS PEOPLE WAKE UP
WISHING THINGS
AWAY IS NOT EFFECTIVE
WITH PERSEVERANCE
YOU CAN DISCOVER ANY TRUTH
WORDS TEND TO BE INADEQUATE
WORRYING CAN HELP
YOU PREPARE
YOU ARE A VICTIM
OF THE RULES YOU LIVE BY
YOU ARE GUILELESS
IN YOUR DREAMS
YOU ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSTITUTING THE MEANING OF THINGS
YOU ARE THE PAST
PRESENT AND FUTURE
YOU CAN LIVE ON
THROUGH YOUR DESCENDANTS
YOU CAN NEVER
OUTRUN YOURSELF
YOU CAN PULL
YOURSELF OUT OF ANY HOLE
YOU CAN'T EXPECT
PEOPLE TO BE SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT
YOU CAN'T FOOL
OTHERS IF YOU'RE FOOLING YOURSELF
YOU DIG YOU OWN
GRAVE
YOU DON'T KNOW
WHAT'S WHAT UNTIL YOU SUPPORT YOURSELF
YOU GET THE FACE
YOU DESERVE
YOU HAVE TO HURT
OTHERS TO BE EXTRAORDINARY
YOU MUST BE
INTIMATE WITH A TOKEN FEW
YOU MUST DISAGREE
WITH AUTHORITY FIGURES
YOU MUST HAVE ONE
GRAND PASSION
YOU MUST KNOW
WHERE YOU STOP AND THE WORLD BEGINS
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT
PEOPLE REALLY THINK ABOUT YOU
YOU ONLY CAN
UNDERSTAND SOMEONE OF YOUR OWN SEX
YOU OWE THE WORLD
NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
YOU SHOULD TRAVEL
LIGHT
YOU SHOULD STUDY
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
YOUR ACTIONS ARE
POINTLESS IF NO ONE NOTICES
YOUR OLDEST FEARS
ARE THE WORST ONES
SURVIVAL, 1983-1985
YOU ARE TRAPPED ON
THE EARTH SO YOU WILL EXPLODE
WHAT URGE WILL
SAVE US NOW THAT SEX WON'T?
PUT FOOD OUT IN
THE SAME PLACE EVERY DAY AND TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO EAT AND ORGANIZE
THEM
SAVOR KINDNESS
BECAUSE CRUELTY IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE LATER
DANCE ON DOWN TO
THE GOVERNMENT AND TELL THEM YOU'RE EAGER TO RULE BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD
FOR YOU
THE BREAKDOWN
COMES WHEN YOU STOP CONTROLLING YOURSELF AND WANT THE RELEASE OF A BLOODBATH
SPIT ALL OVER
SOMEONE WITH A MOUTHFUL OF MILK IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT HIS
PERSONALITY FAST
MOTHERS WITH
REASONS TO SOB SHOULD DO IT IN GROUPS IN PUBLIC AND WAIT FOR OFFERS
OUTER SPACE IS
WHERE YOU DISCOVER WONDER AND WHERE YOU FIGHT AND NEVER HURT EARTH IF YOU STOP
BELIEVING THIS YOUR MOOD TURNS UGLY
DIE FAST AND QUIET
WHEN THEY INTERROGATE YOU OR LIVE SO LONG THAT THEY ARE ASHAMED TO HURT YOU
ANYMORE
IF YOU HAD BEHAVED
NICELY THE COMMUNISTS WOULDN'T EXIST
TRUST VISIONS THAT
DON'T FEATURE BUCKETS OF BLOOD
IN A DREAM YOU SAW
A WAY TO SURVIVE AND YOU WERE FULL OF JOY
IF YOU'RE
CONSIDERED USELESS NO ONE WILL FEED YOU ANYMORE
WHEN YOU EXPECT
FAIR PLAY YOU CREATE AN INFECTIOUS BUBBLE OF MADNESS AROUND YOU
YOU ARE SO COMPLEX
THAT YOU DON'T ALWAYS RESPOND TO DANGER
MEN DON'T PROTECT
YOU ANYMORE
WITH ALL THE HOLES
IN YOU ALREADY THERE'S NO REASON TO DEFINE THE OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENT AS ALIEN
WHEN SOMEONE BEATS
YOU WITH A FLASHLIGHT YOU MAKE LIGHT SHINE IN ALL DIRECTIONS
FINDING EXTREME
PLEASURE WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON IF YOU'RE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT THRILLS YOU
USE A STUN GUN
WHEN THE PERSON COMING AT YOU HAS A GOOD EXCUSE
IT IS IN YOUR
SELF-INTEREST TO FIND A WAY TO BE VERY TENDER
THE BEGINNING OF
THE WAR WILL BE SECRET
THE CONVERSATION
ALWAYS TURNS TO LIVING LONG ENOUGH TO HAVE FUN
WHAT COUNTRY
SHOULD YOU ADOPT IF YOU HATE POOR PEOPLE?
USE WHAT IS
DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT QUICKLY
PROTECT ME FROM
WHAT I WANT
YOU ARE CAUGHT
THINKING ABOUT KILLING ANYONE YOU WANT
IT'S HARD TO KNOW
IF YOU'RE CRAZY IF YOU FEEL YOU'RE IN DANGER ALL THE TIME NOW
YOU CAN'T REACH
THE PEOPLE WHO CAN KILL YOU ANY TIME SO YOU HAVE TO GO HOME AND THINK ABOUT
WHAT TO DO
THE FUTURE IS
STUPID
HIDE UNDER WATER
OR ANYWHERE SO UNDISTURBED YOU FEEL THE JERK OF PLEASURE WHEN AN IDEA COMES
SOMEONE ELSE'S
BODY IS A PLACE FOR YOUR MIND TO GO
WHEN THERE'S NO
SAFE PLACE TO SLEEP YOU'RE TIRED FROM WALKING ALL DAY AND EXHAUSTED FROM THE
NIGHT BECAUSE IT'S TWICE AS DANGEROUS THEN
IT'S EASY TO GET
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ON EVERY CONTINENT TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO EATING AND EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY
GO WHERE PEOPLE
SLEEP AND SEE IF THEY'RE SAFE
HANDS ON YOUR
BREAST CAN KEEP YOUR HEART BEATING
TURN SOFT AND
LOVELY ANY TIME YOU HAVE A CHANCE
IT IS FUN TO WALK
CARELESSLY IN A DEATH ZONE
YOU LIVE THE SURPRISE
RESULTS OF OLD PLANS
LET YOUR HAND
WANDER ON THE FLESH TO MAKE POSSIBILITY MULTIPLY
IT IS EMBARRASSING
TO BE CAUGHT AND KILLED FOR STUPID REASONS
SHOOT INTO
INFINITE SPACE TO HIT A TARGET IN TIME AND CALL IT INEVITABLE
YOU HOVER NEAR
LOVELY UNCONSCIOUS LIFE-FORMS THAT OFFER NO IMMEDIATE RESISTANCE
PEOPLE LOOK LIKE
THEY ARE DANCING BEFORE THEY LOVE
BODIES LIE IN THE
BRIGHT GRASS AND SOME ARE MURDERED AND SOME ARE PICNICKING
SILLY HOLES IN
PEOPLE ARE FOR BREEDING OR ARE FROM SHOOTING
YOUR MODERN FACE
SCANS THE SURPRISE ENDING
selections from the survival series, 1983
2 silver offset lithographed stickers, each 2 1/2 x 3"
parking meters, philadelphia
selections from the survival series, 1986
pixelboard, 20 x 50'
installation, 696 yonge street, toronto
sponsored by electromedia, toronto
selection from the survival series, 1983
silver offset lithographed sticker, 2 1/2' x 3"
garbage can lid, new york
selection from the survival series, 1983
UNEX electronic display signboard, 30 1/2 x 113 1/2 x 12"
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