Truism

1977

Jenny Holzer

Artist, American, born 1950

This vertically oriented lithograph is printed with a series of statements in black, all-caps letters against a white background. They read as follows: “RAISE BOYS AND GIRLS THE SAME WAY/ RANDOM MATING IS GOOD FOR DEBUNKING SEX MYTHS/ RECHANNELING DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSES IS A SIGN OF MATURITY/ RECLUSES ALWAYS GET WEAK/ REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH IS IMPERATIVE/ RELATIVITY IS NO BOON TO MANKIND/ RELIGION CAUSES AS MANY PROBLEMS AS IT SOLVES/ REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS HAVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE/ REVOLUTION BEGINS WITH CHANGES IN THE INDIVIDUAL/ ROMANTIC LOVE WAS INVENTED TO MANIPULATE WOMEN/ ROUTINE SMALL EXCESSES ARE WORSE THAN THE OCCASIONAL DEBAUCH/ SACRIFICING YOURSELF FOR A BAD CAUSE IS NOT A MORAL ACT/ SALVATIONS CANNOT BE BROUGHT OR SOLD/ SELF-AWARENESS CAN BE CRIPPLING/ SELF-CONTEMPT CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD/ SELFISHNESS IS THE MOST BASIC MOTIVATION/ SELFISHNESS IS THE HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT/ SEX DIFFERENCE IS HERE TO STAY/ SIN IS A MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL/ SLIPPING INTO MADNESS IS GOOD FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON/ SLOPPY THINKING GETS WORSE OVER TIME/ SOLITUDE IS ENRICHING/ SOMETIMES SCIENCE ADVANCES FASTER THAN IT SHOULD/ SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON SELF-IMPROVEMENT IS ANTISOCIAL/ STARVATION IS NATURE’S WAY/ STASIS IS A DREAM STATE/ STERILIZATION IS A WEAPON OF THE RULERS/ STRONG EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT STEMS FROM BASIC INSECURITY/ STUPID PEOPLE SHOULDN’T BREED/ SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST APPLIES TO MEN AND ANIMALS.”
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    offset lithograph on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of the Artist

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 88.27 x 58.1 cm (34 3/4 x 22 7/8 in.)

  • Accession

    2008.111.9


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

the artist, New York; gift to NGA, 2008

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2016

  • Three Centuries of American Prints: from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington; National Gallery in Prague, Prague 1; Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 2016 - 2017, no. 133.

Wikidata ID

Q76439093


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