Whenever I feel like my name doesn't lend itself to being taken seriously, I should remind myself of Jenny Holzer. Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger hold a special place in my heart insomuch as they manage to take simple, idiomatic language and make it at times funny, profound and provocative. Other artists that use language as their medium, such as Lawrence Wiener or the sometimes text-centric Ed Ruscha don't really get me all that excited, but Jenny Holzer does--and every time.
Last summer I saw Jenny's installation at MassMoCA, and yesterday at the Whitney I saw her latest show PROTECT PROTECT. If you remember her redacted US Government documents that she projected onto buildings in NYC back in 2005, then you'll get to see her expand on the themes of exposing use of torture, U.S. war crimes, secrecy, and semantics. Part digital showcase of truisms and part venue to illuminate US policy & treatment of Iraqi prisoners--it's really not to be missed.
**Small footnote** Full Disclosure: One of Ed Ruscha's paintings, Brave Men Run In My Family (1983) that hangs in the main dining room of the Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica, has made me giddy since about 1990. So, I guess he can get me a little excited.
