Jenny Holzer (American b. 1950)

 Production still from the “Art in the Twenty-First Century” Season 4 episode, “Protest,” 2007
Segment: Jenny Holzer
© Art21, Inc. 2007
Holzer_Production still from Protest (2007) Art21 PBS

Jenny Holzer
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Jenny Holzer (b. 1950)

Jenny Holzer has projected her iconic, text-based works onto international monuments, carved them into bronze plaques, and printed them on condom wrappers. She culls text from literature, aphorisms, speeches, slogans and declassified government correspondences, in addition to using her own writing.  Whether masquerading as monuments or advertisements, her subversive installations command attention. Holzer is a feminist artist, and among her diverse themes are gendered forms of oppression. Her work endeavors to raise questions and awareness about these and other issues, including politics, violence and war. Holzer was the first woman to represent the United States at the 1990 Venice Biennale, where she won the Golden Lion. She has received numerous other awards, including French government’s Diploma of Chevalier (2000).  Holzer was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. Today, she lives in Hoosick Falls, New York, and continues to organize light and text projections in public spaces around the world.