Truisms
1977-1979
- Medium
- offset lithographs on 8 sheets
- Measurements
- 88.3 × 58.1 cm (each)
- Place/s of Execution
- New York, New York, United States
- Accession Number
- 2021.19
- Departments
- International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Ruth Margaret Frances Houghton Bequest, 2021
© Jenny Holzer/Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
Jenny Holzer conceived of Truisms while she was enrolled in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s independent study program. Faced with a vast reading list of canonical literature, Holzer distilled the texts into single-sentence declarations, which she later organised into alphabetised lists. Presented side by side without context, each of these so-called statements of fact are revealed to be merely one of many possible perspectives. When Truisms was first displayed as anonymous street posters in New York from 1977 to 1979, members of the public responded by suggesting revisions or crossing out sentences they disagreed with. Since then, Truisms has been presented in various formats, including kinetic LED signs and t-shirts. In each iteration, the series transforms an everyday encounter with language into an opportunity for critical reflection or debate.