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Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Your body is a battleground), 1989 — Barbara Kruger – *Untitled (Your body is a battleground)*, 1989

Introduction

Barbara Kruger’s art is easily one of the most recognizable on the planet. Characterized by the bold white Futura¹ Oblique and sometimes caps locked sans serif, her artwork forces audiences to take a hard look at the institutions that she satirizes. Both direct and political, her art is designed to question the modern political and democratic process while challenging societal notions of sexism, consumerism and corruption.

Barbara Kruger – I shop therefore I am, 1987, screenprint on vinyl, 125 x 125 cm — Barbara Kruger – *I shop therefore I am*, 1987, screenprint on vinyl, 125 x 125 cm, photo: CC BY 2.0 by krossbow

Barbara Kruger - We don't need another hero, 1985 — Barbara Kruger – *We don’t need another hero*, 1985

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Money can buy you love), 1985 — Barbara Kruger – *Untitled (Money can buy you love)*, 1985

Barbara Kruger - Talk Is Cheap, 1985 — Barbara Kruger – *Talk Is Cheap*, 1985

How Kruger influenced culture

Thanks to powerful slogans like “Money can buy you love”, as well as “I shop therefore I am”², her artwork can be found all over the globe in famous art spaces and on the surfaces and roofs of certain buildings. Today, her iconoclastic controversies have become so popular with contemporary audiences, much more than they were all those years when she started out. As a result, musicians and brands have replicated her work numerous times, most notably currently being the distinguished skate brand known as Supreme.

Barbara Kruger - Sunglasses by Freeway Eyewear and ForYourArt — Barbara Kruger – Sunglasses by Freeway Eyewear and ForYourArt, benefitting national arts organizations including the Art Production Fund, the Hammer Museum, LACMA, photo: Give Good Art

Barbara Kruger - black Sunglasses by Freeway Eyewear — Barbara Kruger – Black Sunglasses by Freeway Eyewear, photo: Artware Editions

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Don't be a jerk), billboard, Melbourne, Australia, 1996 — Barbara Kruger – *Untitled (Don’t be a jerk)*, billboard, Melbourne, Australia, 1996

Barbara Kruger's work on the exterior of the Beverly Center, 2017 — Barbara Kruger’s work on the exterior of the Beverly Center, 2017

What font is used in Barbara Kruger’s art?

As stated earlier, Barbara primarily uses slogans written in oblique Futura bold type or sans serif in caps lock to communicate her messages. The backgrounds against which she embellishes her phrases are legible and usually accompanied by a color palette of reds, blacks and whites.

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Let Go), 2004 — Barbara Kruger – *Untitled (Let Go)*, 2004

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Beneath You), 2015 — Barbara Kruger – *Untitled (Beneath You)*, 2015

What makes her style unique?

Most of the slogans are pasted across black and white photographs derived from mid-century magazines. Like other pop artists that were successful before her, such as Andy Warhol, Kruger has managed to develop a style that is distinctly hers. This probably explains why it has been so easy for her style to be recreated beyond galleries to become included in both mainstream and digital culture.

Barbara Kruger at Kunsthaus Bregenz, 2014 — Barbara Kruger – Installation view, Kunsthaus Bregenz, 2014, photo: Christian Hinz

What makes her work so powerful

In juxtaposing phrases with black and white photography, Kruger borrows from her experience in advertising and graphic design to disrupt the voice of today’s mass media. She delivers her messages directly to her audience as she often uses phrases like ’we’ and ’you’ to discuss central issues in society. Because of her bold use of fonts and her short but powerful slogans, the audience never ignores her work.

Barbara Kruger at Sprüth Magers, 2017 — Barbara Kruger – Installation view, Sprüth Magers, 2017, photo: Timo Ohler

About the artist

Barbara began making her ground-breaking artwork during the 1970s after a long career in the magazine industry as a designer and picture editor. After her professional experience working in an industry that is all about perfection and consumerism, Kruger was inspired to create art that would question these points of view. Aside from being featured in some of the top art spaces in the world, her work has also been printed on several mediums, including films, tote bags, and interior work.