About Jenny Holzer
Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist based in Hoosick, New York. Her work focuses on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, projections on buildings and other structures, and illuminated electronic displays. Holzer belongs to the feminist branch of a generation of artists who emerged around 1980. She was an active member of Colab during this time, participating in The Times Square Show. Among the most notable honors she has received for her contributions to the arts are the Leone d'Oro (1990), the World Economic Forum's Crystal Award (1996), the rank of Officier des Arts et des Lettres (2016), the U.S. State Department's International Medal of Arts (2017), and the Time 100 Award (2024), as well as honorary doctorates from Williams College, the Rhode Island School of Design, the New School, and Smith College. Inflammatory Essays was a work consisting of posters Holzer created from 1979 to 1982 and put up throughout New York. In an interview Holzer mentions that she uses the first person "I" simply to give the impression that a dead person is speaking and therefore make the installation more interesting to her audience. In 1989, Holzer became the second female artist chosen to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in Italy (Diane Arbus was the first, shown posthumously in 1972).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.