1994.10.257
Inflammatory Essay
Artist
Jenny Holzer
(Gallipolis, OH, 7/29/1950 – )
Title
Inflammatory Essay
Creation Date
1979-1982
Century
20th century
Dimensions
10 in. x 10 in. (25.4 cm. x 25.4 cm.)
Object Type
print
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
offset lithograph on paper
Credit Line
Gift of David P. Becker, Class of 1970
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1994.10.257
Holzer initially installed these brightly colored posters on Manhattan streets where they would be confronted by unsuspecting pedestrians. Uniform in size, typeface, and word count, the 24 essays in the series (10 of which are shown here) voice provocative positions on a range of topics from the political to the interpersonal. Though each text is written from a different perspective, Holzer is the only author, maintaining variations on aggressive and provocative tone in order to capture the temperature of “hot” topics considered unmentionable or burning questions of the day. She intended “to show how dangerous and absurd it is to be a fanatic, but how important it is to get things done.” Different colors correspond to different ideological voices, which don’t quite cohere into a unified statement.