Hi everyone it's Paola, so I am going to be talking about
an artist today, I thought I would start a new series,
kind of, let me know if you want this to be a series, but I thought I would talk about an artist or designer
that really inspires me and then tell you about them, so we can kind of have a little educational thing,
I studied art history along with graphic design
so I'm really into art history and all the artists that came before, and
the impact they had on the future of art, and so I thought I would just talk about an artist that I really like, and
that has inspired me in my work, or someone
I just really greatly respect for what they've done, and tell you all about them, and then try to create -
Why am I moving my hands so much? But, [laughs] I'm gonna try to create something that's inspired by them as well,
so it's kind of gonna be a little history lesson, then you're gonna have art inspiration,
it's like all around good for inspiration too to learn about other artists.
So that's what we're gonna do! If you want this to be a series where I talk about other artists
let me know by giving this video a thumbs up and
letting me know in the comments
another artist that you would like to see. It's not gonna be an every week video, but of course
I'm gonna be posting more cuz that's what I'm trying to do even though
I'm failing at it, but we are going to do this in a series
occasionally. So yeah, let me know if you want to see it by giving me a thumbs up and let's go.
So the artist we're going to be talking about is Barbara Kruger. Barbara Kruger is
an artist... [laughs]
obviously, but she is a graphic artist,
so basically a graphic designer,
but a lot of people defined her as a collage artist and a photographer, and she's just covered a lot of different mediums,
but mostly what I've seen of her work is
basically graphic design, because obviously we know graphic design can be a whole bunch of stuff, it's not just one thing,
it's not just on the computer,
Because Barbara Kruger was really active in the 70s, 80s, 90s. Most of her notable works are from the 1980s
and she is an amazing, amazing graphic designer.
She did a lot of collage art and that's what she's known for mostly, and it's just super super
inspirational as a graphic designer
to see her work and what it was and is.
But yeah, so that's what we're gonna be talking about today.
So I first learned about Barbara Kruger from my contemporary art history class,
I took a summer class which was
[pause]
a mistake.
But it was a very very interesting class. It was probably my favorite art history,
just for the content.
But this contemporary class was very interesting to me because it was a lot of the 20th century,
breaking down all these different decades and what they were and what they were classified as, which I thought was
interesting because it really told the story of where art was going, and then why it became what it is today.
So if you ever have the opportunity to take a contemporary art class,
take it! It's so so interesting.
So when I first learned about Barbara Kruger, it was the
appropriation section of the class. So basically the 1980s were considered the decade of
appropriation in art, and
'appropriation' stands for the usage of other people's work and other mediums to create new art.
So it was kind of like this neo-conceptual thing,
but it wasn't just stealing, it wasn't just like, "oh, yeah
I like that I'm gonna copy it." It was utilizing things that have come before to re-appropriate them,
"Appropriation." There you go!
Into new art. And a lot of this art was very critical,
it was critical of the culture. Of course,
the 70s and 80s were definitely the counterculture movement, and going against the grain, and critiquing
what was the norm. So art at that time, because art was the leader of
pushing boundaries
in art, the art movement at this time was definitely critiquing what was considered
normal, what was considered good, and it was like, "okay here let's throw this in your face,"
"Like, we ain't good over here." Ya know?
So that's what it was basically doing, appropriation was definitely critiquing by using all this different imagery and and
pieces of society.
And you definitely have to think about what the culture was at that time in the 1980s,
so like the 1980s were a time of
shoulder pads, even though I cut these out, I think this blazer is from the 80s,
but I cut the shoulder pads out of it. [laughs]
But seriously the 1980s were a time of a lot of wealth,
a lot of greed, and it was this big time where people wanted to have a social status.
And I feel like art at that time was really going against that and saying, "ok, why is the culture shifting?"
"Why do we all care about this picture-perfect life or having it all?" And
it was very very against the grain with art at this time because
it wasn't perfect. The 80s weren't perfect. And everyone was keeping up this facade.
I think it's also interesting to see what artists were doing in the age of technology rising. Of course
computers and the internet and all that, but a lot
of the times graphic designers were still doing things by hand, and Barbara Kruger was doing things like
silk-screening and collage art, and taking things from magazines, and photos, and using this black and white imagery -
[pronounced wrong] imashery?
imagery from the 50's, and so it was an interesting time to see that go from
handmade to digital, which of course, a lot of people do digital collaging now,
so I think it's interesting that we've seen that progression from the 1980s to now.
So when I first learned about Barbara Kruger
I was honestly floored. I had never seen an artist, or even thought about artists that were graphic designers in
a time that wasn't digital and "now".
I don't know why, I just never even thought about the historical context of
graphic design or people who have come before me, and I found Barbara Kruger so amazing for what she
was doing, but also what she was representing.
Her work is honestly really amazing. It is very consistent,
so when you see a Barbara Kruger work, you can definitely tell that it's her.
She used a lot of black and white imagery and she used-
why can't I say the word 'imagery' today?
imagery, imagery, imagery!
So she used a lot of black and white imagery, and she
put it in with a lot of red, and she has this black, white and red theme - and what she called,
'lipstick red,' which I thought was interesting
because it's this idea of femininity
coming in with the harshness of the words, or the photo, or what it all means,
it's very interesting that she used this color that she thinks is like, "lipstick red." It's classic, it's a woman,
it's feminine. So her most popular work, I would say one of her most notable works is from
1989 and it's called "your body is a battleground," and I feel like it is just really intense,
her whole meaning behind it
is that women, especially in the 1980s,
but even today, are going through a lot and they have to deal with a lot, and they have to face a lot of challenges
every day, and it's just this idea of
being a woman and maybe not being in control of your body, and having to deal with other people making choices for you,
and she's definitely
commenting, commentating? I don't know. She's commenting. She's critiquing the culture,
so she is doing exactly what appropriation art is doing in
the 1980s, she's completely saying,
"What are we doing here? What is society saying about women? What kind of changes are they imposing on women?"
Like, "what are people voting for to change, and be in charge of women's bodies?"
So, I think it's really interesting that she
critiques this, and with that lipstick red color, just the whole idea of being a woman and being feminine,
and just "having it all." Ya know? Like the 80s.
I just feel like it is the perfect
example of appropriation art, and really embodies what Barbara Kruger was trying to do.
And her works are not just little, small
prints, they are so big. They're like the biggest scale things.
I actually saw "your body is a battleground" at the broad Museum in LA when I went in June for VidCon.
I went to the broad and I was like, I'm so excited to see all of the Barbara Kruger stuff!
I did, and it was like emotional for me, like I got to see it and just seeing on such a big
scale, like it feels like it's 10 feet tall.
I don't think it is, but it feels huge! And
It was so overwhelming to see that work, and how powerful it is when it's just right there in your face.
Overall, her work is very very confrontational,
and it's very very important that we have art that is confrontational because we can't really change as a society without
thought-provoking
media, and thought-provoking pieces, and just opening our minds and expanding our minds to see more, and see different perspectives.
So this art was definitely very important, and Barbara Kruger was an amazing amazing-
not was - IS an amazing amazing graphic designer and artist, and she really inspires me and
now I'm gonna create something that is inspired by her. It'll probably look a little weird, but you know what?
We're just gonna do something fun and
you can do it too now that you know about Barbara Kruger, you can create something inspired by her!
So it's a little art project that you can do this week!
So yeah! That is what I'm going to do now.
We're going to design something.
[upbeat music]
Okay, so now we have done everything that we were going to do today, and I hope you liked this video if you did give
it a thumbs up! Also subscribe if you haven't already and turn on the bell so you can like know when I'm posting.
I'm also using the community tab now because I just got it,
so now I'm gonna be posting little community things so keep an eye out for posts from me, and
I will see you my next video. Bye!
I loved it I even wrote in my notes, like in my notebook at school I wrote
"INCREDIBLE"
in all caps next to my notes and like, why am I always writing weird notes to myself?
Like I'm not gonna read these later - but look I did!