“I shop therefore I am.” Barbara Kruger became famous for her provocative reformulation of the Cartesian dictum. Her photographs, video works, and installations make emphatic use of the visual language of advertising and its slogans, but are characterized by her political engagement, pleas for freedom of expression, and are critical of consumerism. In addition, Kruger very consciously reflects on the art system, its limitations and rules, as well as the tendency of all art to become a commodity. Kruger repeatedly leaves the exhibition context to develop works for newspapers, posters, and other public mediums. She is responsible for the stage design for WWTBD – What Would Thomas Bernhard Do, which lists succinct characterizations from Thomas Bernhard’s novels: doer, thinker, diva, actor, winner, loser, hater, and finally, survivor. Yilmaz Dziewior, Director of the Kunsthaus Bregenz, which is showing a major retrospective of her work beginning on October 19, will speak with the artist.
Yilmaz Dziewior (*1964) is director of the Kunsthaus Bregenz since 2009. He lives and works in Bregenz.
Barbara Kruger (*1945) is an artist. She lives and works in Los Angeles. In 1979 she was invited for a solo exhibition at MoMA P.S.1 in New York, followed by exhibitions at Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt among many others. In 2005 she was the recipient of the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 51st Venice Biennale. She lectures at the University of California in Los Angeles.