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Barbara
Kruger was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1945.
She studied at the Syracuse School of Visual
Arts. Upon completion she was a student of Diane
Arbus at Parson’s School of Design in New York.
She began her career working for madomoiselle
magazine where she was promoted to head designer.
Her background in design is evident in the work
for which she is now internationally renowned.
She layers found photographs from existing sources
with pithy and aggressive text that involves
the viewer in the struggle for power and control
that her captions speak to. In their trademark
black letters against a slash of red background,
some of her instantly recognizable slogans read
“I shop therefore I am,” and “Your body is a
battleground." Much of her text questions the
viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism,
and individual autonomy and desire. She has
taught at the California Institute of Art, The
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and
the University of California, Berkeley. She
lives in New York and Los Angeles.
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