Controversy of Jenny Holzer's work - Essay Example

inning with her works in ‘Truisms’ which brought her fame and consequent infamy, her works in art text has been a foundation for this form that continues to flourish so as to its relevance thirty years ago and so much so in today’s fast and often too preoccupied times. The sheer honesty she brings to the table can sometimes be the most enlightening perspective that can capture your attention and can also be the most uncomfortable thing that is propelled in your pensive state. It feels like one of those statement t-shirts that you cannot prevent yourself from looking.

Reality hurts and Holzer brings these realities right smack at your face, whether you like it or not. ‘Truisms’ continues to be one of her most celebrated work. It contains some of the most illuminating aphorisms ever imagined. “Absolute submission can be a form of freedom,” “ambition is just as dangerous as complacency,” “its just an accident that your parents are your parents.” These are just some of the maxims included in her work that caused much of the controversy that surrounds her early in her career (Holzer).

It is not so much a question of the vulgarity that provokes people when speaking of her art. It is the tenacity that she surrounds it with. This is because of her obstinate desire to call a spade a spade. By bringing up the truth we tend to ostracize people, not because the truth cannot be revealed so much as the truth can bring about disparities in perspectives. The inventiveness in the way she lets the audience experience these works are admirably splendid and sometimes absurdly brutal. Holzer is a mix of what one can refer to as the high brow and the low brow of the art scene.

Her usage of standard equipment and other devices brings her work closer to the audience while her texts, which causes for much of her popularity polarizes her from other artists and their respective media. She has been around for decades for a reason. No matter what many people say about