Educational Media Reviews Online

What will a post-text world mean to Judy Holzer and her art? Does hers become a dead medium? As About Jenny Holzer visually demonstrates, it probably won’t much matter. The language can be foreign, but the movement and placement of her artistic elements still move, and move the viewer. Her words, no matter what they mean literally, represent brush strokes or pixels. The film documents Holzer’s technique. Her descriptions are uniquely clear and revelatory. Biographic details unfold in the film along with her working processes. Viewers get an intimate and detailed look of her and her work. She is surprisingly candid about both. Holzer appears very direct and straightforward considering the emotional and immediate effect of her art. The genesis of her work evolved from graffiti, social consciousness, and the streets. Abandoned New York City buildings were the canvases of both her and her contemporaries. They were plentiful, available, and low to no cost. Performance art was created alongside visual art during these downtown pre-Tribeca gentrification years. About Jenny Holzer is an essential addition to any collection on contemporary art.