BARBARA KRUGER at AGO façade (317 Dundas West), to August 30. Rating: NNN
Decades of smart image-making have made Barbara Kruger an art-world superhero whose powers include laser-beam incisiveness and subtlety-crushing candour. Here, she takes over the AGO facade with 10-foot-high admonitions to “Blame It, Kiss It, Buy It, Believe It” and more.
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Retro images (occasionally stomach-churning) accompany these texts. Though Kruger’s wit is as sharp as ever, the context produces some funny readings, the mural occasionally seeming to be an exhibition ad banner.
Where do non-profit institutions and corporate marketing meet? What do the images and texts around us tell us about art and, more importantly, ourselves? Kruger offers no answers, but it’s still wonderful to see her work at such a scale.
