Sunday, May 17, 2009

Jenny Holzer, Protect Protect @ the Whitney

Jenny Holzer, For Chicago, 2008.
There are a little over two weeks left before Jenny Holzer's Protect Protect leaves the Whitney on May 31st. Using language as her medium, she collects various texts she has written or selected over the years and scrolls them in various LED screen installations (one of her primary mediums of choice).

The installation that greets visitors as they emerge from the elevator (For Chicago, pictured above) was one of the best things I've seen this year. I was mesmerized by the eleven screens laying flat on the ground, scrolling various texts. The play of shadow and light on the walls as the letters passed further enhanced the effect (especially as they disappeared into or emerged from the far wall. The exhibit also includes a selection of her Redaction paintings, created from correspondance and reports that have been declassified but remain heavily redacted. Learn more about the exhibition at The Whitney. Holzer's own site currently focuses on her Projections, which consist of text projected onto various buildings and institutions.

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