☰
About Magazine Places Projects
Skip to content

Jenny Holzer’s Sign on a truck – Meddling in the US election?

Last updated: April 16, 2025
Installations
Activist art, Artworks & exhibitions in New York, Conceptual art, Jenny Holzer's most interesting artworks, Site-specific art, Text-based art
4 min read
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
1 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
    • 1.What is Jenny Holzer famous for?
    • 2.Sign on a Truck, 1984
    • 3.Her intention: To provoke a strong response
    • 4.Why was this project created?
    • 5.About Jenny Holzer
    • 6.Conclusion
    • 7.Photos

What is Jenny Holzer famous for?

Over the years, American artist Jenny Holzer 1 has become known for her thought-provoking installations, many of which are typically text-based and depend heavily on the use of electronic technology. Jenny relies on different mediums from billboards 2 and t-shirts to condoms and gallery work to communicate her perspective on art and society today. Her work is often created to question the words and messages that surround human beings in the information age.

Sign on a Truck, 1984

Sign on a Truck was a traveling roadshow that featured over 27,000 electron tubes. It was exhibited to the public on the eve of the presidential election in 1984. Jenny used a truck that was furnished with a sound system and an 18-foot electronic board that would then display images, quotes and statements, as well as videos of strangers being interviewed in the street to the watching public. The tape was tightly edited, with a mix of speeches and humorous images. Some of the participants in the tape include activists and artists the likes of Vito Acconci 3, Randy Twaddle, Maartje Higgins, Jonathon Borofsky and more.

Her intention: To provoke a strong response

Her word choices were critical to Sign on a Truck. In particular, the messages in Sign on a Truck were presented in a way that could easily reach people, which probably explains why she opted to design her text in a manner that reflected the language of breaking news. She intended to provoke a strong response.

Why was this project created?

The project was created to attempt to utilize technology as a means of sparking debate and capture that perspective of different voices and opinions on the eve of election night. By creating art that existed outside a traditional space, she built a more intimate relationship with her viewers.

About Jenny Holzer

Born in 1950 in Gallipolis, Jenny received her BFA from Ohio University in 1972, but it was not until 1977 that her series Truisms, which features a series of ambiguous quotes that she gained critical acclaim. Jenny Holzer has consolidated a reputation in the art world and among her fans as an artist with many voices.

Conclusion

As a conceptual artist, her text-based public projects have been hugely successful over the years. Her artwork often straddles the line between information and propaganda to clarify societal issues that would otherwise often remain obscured. Her artwork as Sign on a Truck provided an opportunity for audiences to communicate their message in a way that could not only be seen but also heard electronically.

Photos

Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
2 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
3 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
4 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
5 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
6 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
7 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
8 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
9 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
10 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
11 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
12 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
Jenny Holzer - Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York
13 Jenny Holzer – Sign on a Truck, Nov 3-5, 1984 at Grand Army Plaza, New York

All images Kevin Nobel/Public Art Fund for Jenny Holzer unless otherwise noted.
More by Jenny Holzer

Citation

Footnotes

1. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/jenny-holzer/
2. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/billboard/
3. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/vito-acconci/
1. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York.jpg ↩
2. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-1.jpg ↩
3. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-1xx.jpg ↩
4. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-2.jpg ↩
5. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-3.jpg ↩
6. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-4.jpg ↩
7. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-5.jpg ↩
8. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-6.jpg ↩
9. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-7.jpg ↩
10. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-screen-1.jpg ↩
11. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-screen-2.jpg ↩
12. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-screen-3.jpg ↩
13. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Jenny-Holzer-Sign-on-a-Truck-Nov-3-5-1984-at-Grand-Army-Plaza-New-York-screen-4.jpg ↩
← Previous Post
Next Post →

Public Delivery Logo

Most visited arts non-profit online. Established in 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. Projects in over 100 countries.

Stay in touch

Discover more

  • Jenny-Holzer-Inflammatory-Essays-1979–81-Museu-dArt-Contemporani-de-Barcelona
    Why Jenny Holzer's Inflammatory Essays matter
  • Jenny-Holzer-Kind-of-Blue-2012-9-LED-signs-with-blue-diodes-2159-x-3048-x-146304-85-x-120-x-576-in.-Modern-Art-Museum-of-Fort-Worth-Texas-USA-2
    Jenny Holzer's eerie Kind of Blue installation
  • Jenny Holzer – Lustmord – Her breasts are all nipple & She has no taste left to her and this makes it easier for me, 1993-1994, ink on skin
    Jenny Holzer's Lustmord - Everything you need to know
  • Bruce-Nauman-Welcome-Shaking-Hands-1985-neon-and-glass-tubing-182.8-x-182.8-x-25.4-cm-
    What makes Bruce Nauman's neons poetic & provocative?
  • Kimsooja-–-Bottari-Truck-–-Migrateurs-2007-2009-feat
    Why did Kimsooja crisscross South Korea with her Bottari Truck?
  • yoko-ono-times-square-new-york-imagine-peace-feat
    Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace - 15 giant billboards at Times Square, New York
× ‹ Expanded image view ›
No cookies. No tracking. Your visit is 100% private.
Instagram | Telegram