Episode 64: Barbara Kruger's Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground) (1989)
“I think I developed language skills to deal with threat. It’s the girl thing to do – you know, instead of pulling out a gun.”
In April 1989, Barbara Kruger - an artist, activist, and former magazine layout editor - created a flyer for a pro-choice women’s march in Washington, DC to protest the Supreme Court’s potential overturning of Roe vs. Wade. This flyer, though, was never meant to be a picket sign. Instead, it has become a timeless artwork all its own: directly addressing any viewer from any era, demanding they confront their own politics, and drawing the battle lines between all the external - and internal - tensions that exist not only within the parameters of the abortion debate, but within women themselves.
Images Referenced:
Music Used:
Django Reinhardt, “Django’s Tiger”
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Thread Indigo,” “Monder,” “Tall Journey,” “Stephi,” “Morning Glare”
Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman” (performed at the Mobilize for Women's Lives Rally in Washington in 1989)
Episode Sponsors:
Altenew Fine Art Supplies (use discount code TAMAR10% at check-out!)
