Claiborne Colombo

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Nailed It.

"Barbara Kruger famously began her professional career as a designer for Mademoiselle and other magazines before defecting from the mass-media overculture to join the conceptual-art resistance. And she didn’t join the cause empty-handed. In her work, Kruger hacked the magazine world’s finely turned tools of cultural communication to begin conveying slogans that went in direct contrast to social conventions (particularly when it came to women): “gender is irrelevant,” for instance, or “your body is a battleground.” Many works declare positions that seem anthemic but then become more and more ambivalent with time, and, in this piece, “Culture Vulture” is both a mark of pride for its owner and an occasions for reflection on the more predatory sides of the arts industry." – ARTSPACE