Love for Sale: The Words and Pictures of Barbara Kruger [Hardcover]

Kate Linker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1990

The artist Barbara Kruger was an important thinker on postmodern and feminist issues. This survey includes her most famous pieces and discusses the ways in which her art challenges social values and the nature of art-making, and uses images appropriated from various sources to capture attention.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Provocative objects are the heart of Kruger's art work. Pairing banal or perplexing photographs with phrases superimposed directly over the image, she challenges the way in which the viewer's thoughts and attitudes are determined by the dictates of society. An example is her close-cropped depiction of an atomic mushroom cloud with the legend, "Your manias become science" across the stem of the cloud. A graphic designer and television critic, Kruger manipulates the commonplace to deconstruct the messages we absorb daily without reflection; in so doing she makes a stronger challenge to the established order than such controversial artists as Serrano and Mapplethorpe. As the most complete overview of an important young artist and a fascinating addition to the debate on censorship in the arts, the book is recommended for most libraries.
- David McClelland, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810912198
• ISBN-13: 978-0810912199
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 10.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #905,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Barbara Kruger rocks!, October 15, 1999

By 

Emily Meyer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love for Sale (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed Love for Sale: the Words and Pictures of Barbara Kruger. It was very interesting to see the wide variety of topics that she covers in her art. Some of the statements she makes can sometimes be difficult to admit or to bring up, but she boldly states the truth of the matter. I highly reccommend this book to art students, as I am, because I think it teaches us a lesson on being brave in stating our message and opinions. Barbara Kruger is my hero, and after looking at this book, she'll be yours, too.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love for Sale is a must for fearless readers and veiwers., November 16, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Love for Sale (Paperback)

If you're not afraid to explore the darker areas of self (especially if you're a male) Kruger's work probes deep into the psyche of late 20th century patriarchal consumerism and the values of the dominant culture.

Whether you love photography or love critical theory, Kruger will delight you and disturb your idea of self as you are dazzled by starkly arranged works that appear to read you instead of you reading them.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy Me, I'll Change Your Life, March 3, 2000

By 

Michael Sean (Seattle, WA - US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love for Sale (Paperback)

Barbara Kruger's art, often pairing appropriated black & white photos with blocks of bold-faced type, has appeared on billboards, bus placards, posters, t-shirts and even shopping bags. She's big on circulating her stuff outside of conventional venues such as galleries and exhibits. This book showcases her brilliant work with plenty of full-page plates as well as photos of her installations and projects. There's a brief introduction covering her early design work for "Mademoiselle" magazine in the '60s and for various book covers in the '70s, up through her progression into the art world by the '80s. The pages of text are accompanied by assorted quotes from a variety of individuals (Edgar Allen Poe, Mae West, Sandra Bernhard). The influence of Kruger's stuff continues to turn up. Her work has been lifted for music videos (Motley Crue, Rage Against The Machine) and album covers (Snog, Consolidated), and her style is commonly imitated by lazy advertisers. This collection is an impressive and inspiring look at her career and her contribution to the world of art and design.