Barbara Kruger, ‘I Shop Therefore I Am’, 1987

A lot of Barbara Kruger’s work deals with post-modern feminism and challenging the current social and political views regarding women and feminism at that time. Kruger appropriates images from magazines and newspapers to use as backgrounds for her graphic, textual pieces. She combines these appropriated images with text, usually a confrontational phrase which challenges the post-modern life.

In particular her piece, ‘I Shop Therefore I Am’, refers to images of women in the media, mainly adverts designed for women by men. It suggests the belief that women only need material objects to be satisfied. The fact that these advertisements are usually created by men, only furthers the belief that the common assumption about women is that they are very materialistic beings that men can control. It is gender stereotyping and the fact Kruger refers to this in her work  is highlighting this wrong and negative ideal surrounding women. It is reinforcing the fact that women are misrepresented in the media and how the ‘male gaze’ is a dominant feature. It is also highlighting the male dominated industries, who are creating these advertisements and the usual techniques of selling their products.

Bibliography

KRUGER, B. 1987. ‘I Shop Therefore I Am’ [Image] – Accessed 23rd November 2017

Available here : http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger.html