Barbara Kruger Public Service Announcements

Like Cindy Sherman, whose work is on view in our galleries this fall, Barbara Kruger emerged in the 1980s as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary art. And also like Sherman, Kruger eventually expanded her text-and-still photo combinations into moving-image forms. She credits her residency in the center’s Film/Video Studio Program with that transition—“a turning point in my practice,” as she recalled.

One result of that residency was this series of live-action vignettes on the subject of empathy written and directed by the artist. Shot in various Short North locations, the five 30-second Public Service Announcements debuted on Columbus television in 1996 and were featured the following year on a public video wall project sponsored by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. (2:30 mins., 16mm transferred to video)