Survival Series: Let your hand wander…

Jenny Holzer has extensively used language as a vessel for artistic expression. Her aphorisms remind us that language is simple and straightforward; they are self-evident truths in a long series of statements, phrases heard on the street about war, politics, death or violence. In the 1960s, the concept that the work of art’s value was relative to the idea underlying it or the action performed to make it real became commonplace. In the 1970s, Holzer used written language on bills, posters, T-shirts, pamphlets, even condom wrappers. In the following decade, her aphorisms appeared on the huge billboards that decorated the streets of New York, and soon afterwards she began exploring other media such as video or large neon signs. Since the physical object was no longer as important as the concept behind it, the artist focused on the creative process, transforming action into pure reflection.

Art becomes a vehicle to convey a message reaching large audiences that are never the same. Language—scathing, assertive, factual—is at the center of Holzer’s art. She wants to surprise viewers, and do so in unexpected places, proposing a certain reaction, an idea, a thought, a space where they can situate their experience. The viewer reads the phrases and wonders where they come from. They are asked to stay away from the author, who stands in the background. The idea is to break the link between the author and the text, producing a dynamic form of communication. Holzer is able to convey these messages creating an evocative atmosphere. We are alone before the solitude of an open space, surrounded by other people. Words and concepts materialize to ask questions about human relationships, consolidate our experience, and analyze our conscience in an unusual setting—a captivating, theatrical dimension that emphasizes the enormous power of language.

The Survival Series, which Holzer began in 1983, includes messages in a rather urgent tone. The phrases inform of, teach about or question the way people respond to their political, social, physical or psychological environments. Initially displayed on electronic media, they soon extended to other media, like this granite bench that reads, “Let your hand wander on flesh to make possibility multiply”.