Jenny Holzer
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WorkRAM
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ExibitionHauser & Wirth Zürich
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Image CreditCollin LaFleche
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Links
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CopyrightJenny Holzer
“RAM” is a three-sided LED stretching over seven metres long. Words scroll along each face of the horizontal LED at varying speeds, before flashing, blacking out and then breaking into a rainbow spectrum of colour that casts a mesmerising glow on the surrounding floor. The differing speeds evoke speech patterns that Holzer describes as ‘the kinetic equivalent to inflection in the voice’. The text of ‘RAM’ is taken from an epic poem cycle by Anna Świrszczyńska (Swir), who joined the Polish resistance during World War II and worked as a nurse during the Warsaw uprising of 1944. Her 1974 work, ‘Building the Barricade’ (Budowałam Barykade), in a new English translation by poet Piotr Florczyk, addresses the atrocities of war from first-hand perspective, describing the suffering and heroism Swir observed during the 1944 Nazi siege and destruction of Poland’s capital. With the aid of robotics, ‘RAM’ moves back and forth and rotates from side to side, suggesting the motion of military battering rams. Its physical aggressiveness emphasises the brutality of Swir’s subject, challenging the conventional myths of war traditional to sculpture and poetry.
Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950, Gallipolis, Ohio) is an American
neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick Falls, New York. The main
focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces.
The public dimension is integral to Holzer's work. Her large-scale
installations have included advertising billboards, projections on
buildings and other architectural structures, and illuminated digital
displays.
Jenny Holzer
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WorkWhite Light
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ClientSan Francisco Art Commission
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ArchitectPelli Clarke Pelli
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Links
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CopyrightJenny Holzer
“RAM” is a three-sided LED stretching over seven metres long. Words scroll along each face of the horizontal LED at varying speeds, before flashing, blacking out and then breaking into a rainbow spectrum of colour that casts a mesmerising glow on the surrounding floor. The differing speeds evoke speech patterns that Holzer describes as ‘the kinetic equivalent to inflection in the voice’. The text of ‘RAM’ is taken from an epic poem cycle by Anna Świrszczyńska (Swir), who joined the Polish resistance during World War II and worked as a nurse during the Warsaw uprising of 1944. Her 1974 work, ‘Building the Barricade’ (Budowałam Barykade), in a new English translation by poet Piotr Florczyk, addresses the atrocities of war from first-hand perspective, describing the suffering and heroism Swir observed during the 1944 Nazi siege and destruction of Poland’s capital. With the aid of robotics, ‘RAM’ moves back and forth and rotates from side to side, suggesting the motion of military battering rams. Its physical aggressiveness emphasises the brutality of Swir’s subject, challenging the conventional myths of war traditional to sculpture and poetry.
Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950, Gallipolis, Ohio) is an American
neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick Falls, New York. The main
focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces.
The public dimension is integral to Holzer's work. Her large-scale
installations have included advertising billboards, projections on
buildings and other architectural structures, and illuminated digital
displays.
