In this week's episode, art historian Robert Wiesenberger joins hosts Catherine Nichols and Isaac Butler to discuss artist Jenny Holzer's "Truisms" from 1978, "Truisms" is a group of declarative sentences Holzer first put up anonymously on posters all over New York City: "Labor is a life-destroying activity.," "Lack of charisma can be fatal," "Private property created crime." The work originated in a period when Holzer was frustrated with painting and turned to language as a more direct means of expression. "Language is a good way to convey meaning," as Holzer put it.
Robert Wiesenberger is the associate curator of Contemporary Projects at the Clark Art Institute and co-author of Muriel Cooper (MIT Press 2017). He has also contributed catalog essays for the Harvard Art Museums and the Walker Art Center, and is a contributing editor to Art Papers magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices