UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ The Writing on the Wall: 1977-2007, New York Graffiti Artists, Jenny Holzer and Swoon A thesis submitted to the Art History Faculty of the School of Art / College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning University of Cincinnati in candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History Maria Seda-Reeder April 27, 2007 Advisor: Dr. Kimberly Paice ABSTRACT In this study I consider the work of two major American graffiti artists: Jenny Holzer (b. 1945) and Swoon (b. 1977). I focus on Holzer’s early poster and sticker campaigns, Truisms (1977-79), Inflammatory Essays (1979-82), and Survival (1983-85), which she offset-printed and posted during the heyday of New York City’s graffiti movement (1966-1989), and Swoon’s life size woodblock printed portraiture posted on the streets since 2001. I argue that Holzer’s work merits consideration within the context of graffiti literature, and that Swoon, inherited Holzer’s legacy thus making her part of graffiti’s avant-garde movement. To accomplish this, I expand upon the definition of what constitutes graffiti, arguing that it is any kind of publicly posted unsanctioned writing. I trace a historical lineage of poster artists as graffiti artists, and provide a feminist reading of Holzer and Swoon’s pre-street production process within the male-dominated movement. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper is dedicated to every artist who gets up on the street to express him or herself. Whether for personal glory or as a social plea on behalf of others, thank you for the inspiration. Power to the people! I would like to express continued love and respect for my husband Tim, without whose support and constant care, this was not possible. Many thanks go to the Seda Family for understanding when I was too involved in writing this paper to leave my computer, making me miss many a weekend family dinner. Last but not least, admiration and gratitude are due to Dr. Kimberly Paice, for her constant direction, words of encouragement, and badass editing skills. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Table of Contents 1 List of Illustrations 2 Introduction 3-6 Chapter One: Jenny Holzer as Graffiti Artist 7 Graffiti as Public Writing 8-10 May 1968 as Historical Precursor for Poster Graffiti 10-11 Discourse Resisting Holzer’s Work as Graffiti 11-17 Graffiti as a Form of Societal Resistance 17-19 Holzer’s Anarchic Graffiti 20-21 Conclusion 22 Chapter Two: Swoon as Graffiti Artist 23 Graffiti, a Sign of the Self in the Urban Environment 23-26 Swoon’s Graffiti 26-29 Swoon as Writer 29-31 The Political Gesture of Public Writing 31-32 Swoon’s Inheritance of Holzer’s New York City Legacy 32-33 Other Predecessors: Christy Rupp 33-34 Other Predecessors: the Guerilla Girls 34-36 The Limits of Discourse 36-37 Swoon’s Anarchic Graffiti 38-40 But then again… 40-41 Chapter Three: What’s Gender Got To Do With It? 42-43 Graffiti’s Avant-Garde Movement 43 REVS and Swoon as Avant-Gardes 43-45 Procedural Comparison 46-47 The Impact of Site 47-48 New Challenges Create New Skills 49 A Move Away From Aerosol 49-51 Conclusion: So What? 52-56 Bibliography 57 Books 57-60 Journals 60 Newspaper Articles 61 Interview 61 Videos 61 Radio Transcript 61 Illustrations 62-75 1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Cave Painting, Lascaux Caves, c. 30,000 – 15,000 B.C.E. 2. An example of political graffiti from Pompeii, c. 79 C.E. 3. Anonymous, Photograph of May 1968 Paris Graffiti, 1968. 4. Anonymous, Photograph of May 1968 Paris Graffiti, 1968. 5. Jenny Holzer, Truisms, 1977. 6. Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays, c. 1979. 7. Jenny Holzer, Survival Series, c. 1980. 8. Jenny Holzer, Untitled (Selections from Truisms, Inflammatory Essays, The Living Series, The Survival Series, Under a Rock, Laments, and Child Text,) 1989. 9. Engraving of Kilroy on the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., 2004. 10. LEE, Stop the Bomb, c. 1980. 11. SKEME, Sons of the Ghetto, c. 1980. 12. SPIN, Dump Koch, c. 1980. 13. LEE, This is what graffiti art is, c. 1980. 14. SEEN, Merry Christmas, 1980. 15. Jenny Holzer, Survival Series, 1984. 16. Swoon, Iraqi Girl series, on the streets of Oaxaca, c. 2005. 17. Swoon, Oaxacan Women Sewing series (street installation view, Brooklyn), c. 2006. 18. Swoon, Oaxacan Women Sewing series, (installation view, Spring Street Exhibition), 2006, c. 6’ X 14’. 19. Swoon, Oaxacan Women Sewing series, (street installation view, Brooklyn, New York), 2007. 20. Jenny Holzer, Survival Series, 1984. 21. Christy Rupp, Rat Patrol, 1979. 22. Guerilla Girls, Do Women Have to Be Naked…, c. 1986. 23. Guerilla Girls, How Many Women Had One Person Exhibitions at NYC Museums Last Year? 1985. 24. REVS and COST, Poster Series, c. 1993. 25. REVS and COST, Roller Piece, c. 1995. 26. REVS, Autobiography, Page 65 of Many, c. 1998. 27. Swoon, Bike Riding Boy (photograph taken in Buenos Aires), c. 2003. 28. Swoon, Photograph of the artist in front of her work, just after a wheat-pasting demonstration, 2006. 29. Jenny Holzer, Photograph of graffitist LADY PINK wearing Truisms t-shirt, 1982. 2 Introduction In my thesis I consider the work of two major American graffiti artists.1 Originally trained as an abstract painter and printmaker, Jenny Holzer (b. 1945) began wheat- pasting black and white text-based posters in a series called Truisms (1977-79) onto walls, fences, and telephone booths in the streets of New York City. In the 1980s, she became internationally known for LED displays in which she continued employing the written word, often in public places. More recently, Holzer has created nighttime projections onto public buildings, such as Rockefeller Center and the New York Public Library. In this study I focus on the artist’s best known series, Truisms, the alphabetical listing of aphorisms Holzer offset-printed and posted during the heyday of the city’s graffiti movement, 1966-1989.2 Swoon (b. 1977), while lesser known, is an artist of a more recent generation who also posts her work in public places. She studied classical painting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York before beginning to paste her life size figurative woodblock prints and paper cutouts onto buildings in the streets of New York in 1999.3 Her work has recently found its way into institutions in the art world, such as galleries and museums. In this study I argue that Holzer is a part of the early graffiti movement in New York City, and that Swoon, inheriting Holzer’s legacy, is also a graffiti artist. To do this, I expand upon the definition of what graffiti is, trace a historical lineage of poster 1 This study will argue in further chapters that graffiti is any publicly posted art. 2 Most art historians give the dates of graffiti’s most prominent era in New York City as 1966- 1989 before the Metro Transit Authority’s (MTA) crack down on illegal subway car spray painting. 3 Swoon does not release her real name for fear of prosecution associated with the illegality of graffiti. 3 artists as graffiti artists, and provide a feminist reading of Holzer and Swoon’s posting methods in the male-dominated movement. A prolific and widely published artist in addition to her visual artwork, Holzer has received numerous awards, including the Blair Award from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982 and the Leone d’Oro Award for Best Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1990. She has published several books including A Little Knowledge (1979); Black Book (1980); Hotel (with Peter Nadin, 1980); Living (with Nadin, 1980); Eating Friends (with Nadin, 1981); Eating Through Living (with Nadin, 1981); and Truisms and Essays (1983). Holzer consistently works with language, placing text where it is accessible to a large public audience. Swoon’s snowflake-like, intricately detailed paper “carvings” and hand-printed woodblock print series have been on view at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (2005), Deitch Projects’ Contemporary Art Gallery (2005), as well as Art Basel Miami (2005) and MoMA (2006). Swoon’s life-size portraits of anonymous city dwellers were also featured in the Whitney Biennial (2006). Swoon’s art is currently receiving critical attention, perhaps despite the typically illegal nature of her art. In the press release for the MoMA’s 2006 exhibition, “Since 2000: Printmaking Now,” Swoon is never referred to as a graffiti artist. Instead, the release states that her work is “often installed both indoors and on the street.” 4 I will argue that critics have failed to attend to a crucial dimension of her work, that is, that it involves posters as graffiti. Swoon’s works combine figurative and narrative elements from photographs of the people in her 4 MoMA Exhibition Press Release, Since 2006: Printmaking Now. [online file] (accessed 17 October 2006); available from http://www.moma.org/about_moma/press/2006/Since%202000%20FINAL- on%20letterhead.pdf#search=%22MoMA%20%22Since%202000%3A%20%20Printmaking%20 Now%22%20exhibition%22; Internet. 4 community and the neighborhoods in which she lives and travels. Her paper cutouts are incised using x-acto knives in small stacks at a time, creating a limited edition run for each series. According to the artist, she tries “to create something that has a kind of a life cycle. It goes up, and has this whole blossoming and decay."5 Thus the street, because of its exposure to the elements, is the ideal forum for her work.