Am I supposed to read all this? On spending time with Jenny Holzer’s word art.
Brittany Allen | Literary Hub | 17th September 2024
A fresh, disarming take on Holzer’s text-based installations. She is not the first text artist so why do we pay so much attention to her mix of “pseudo-philosophy, wise-guy polemic, and aimless chatter”? Some text clearly comes from the artist but at other times, who is speaking? If we don’t try to read the words as they scroll past, the whole show seems a bit absurd. And what if we do try to read them? “If one clear, activating, right-headed message is the point—why take so many words to say it?