Jenny Holzer

Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual artist known for her use of texts and language to address political views, social norms and tropes belonging to individuals and society at large. Her multifaceted practice can be understood in its totality as a societal radiography. In Selection from Truisms: Hiding your motives..., a labradorite footstool is inscribed with a text from Holzer's renowned series, Truisms, 1977–1979. By luring the viewer in, with the appeal of both form and function — an object of rest created out of Black Labradorite — Holzer is able to deploy her message of societal critique under the ostensible cover of comfort. The artist’s embrace of language and the decorative allows Holzer to convey provocative messaging, challenging societally circumscribed gender roles and violence, under a guise of ambiguity and plausible deniability.