Performa 17 opens in New York this week and presents performance art in venues across New York City from November 1 to 19, 2017. To help bring art excitement to the masses, artist Barbara Kruger has designed a MetroCard based on her iconic text driven art, reported Andrew R. Chow for The New York Times. As of November 1, 2017, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will release 50,000 limited edition MetroCards featuring two different Kruger designs on the back.
The limited edition MetroCards can be obtained at four subway stations through the vending machines only and cards are issued by random chance, according to NYT. The stops are Queensboro Plaza, Broadway-Lafayette Street, East Broadway and at the B/C station at 116th street. The two designs make use of Kruger's iconic white on red Futura typeface and feature the questions "Who is healed? Who is housed? Who is silent? Who speaks" or "Whose hopes? Whose fears? Whose values? Whose justice?"
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Limited Edition MetroCards designed by Barbara Kruger are available at four subway stations in NYC on November 1, 2017. Photo by Job Piston. Courtesy Performa 17.
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The MetroCard is one of four art projects Kruger is contributing to Performa 17, in addition to her nearly sold out first-time art performance, according to the biennial's website. Kruger has also created an installation for the Lower East Side skate park beneath the Manhattan Bridge; a billboard on 17th Street and 10th Avenue in Chelsea; and wrapped a classic school bus as a mobile art vehicle for community engagement.
In addition, Kruger gives her first ever art performance as part of Performa 17. Untitled (The Drop) takes place on Thursdays on November 2, 9 and 16, 2017in timed sessions from 4 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $5. For details, click here.
Barbara Kruger (American, b. 1945) is a conceptual artist who is known for her text driven art that exposes cultural constructs of power, identity, sexuality, money or desire. I Shop and Therefore I Am, 1987, and Your Body is a Battleground, 1985, are two well-known works by Kruger.
Her art is in permanent collections held by the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Hammer Museum and The Broad Art Foundation and others. She is based in New York and Los Angeles and is a part-time resident of The Hamptons.
Her most visible presence in The Hamptons was her 2010 solo show at Guild Hall in East Hampton. She created a site-specific installation for the exhibition, "Plenty," where she wrapped the ceiling of the museum with the phrase “You want it/You need it/You buy it/You forget it” presented in black and white.
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Installation of the exhibition "Plenty" at Guild Hall. Photo by Gary Mamay. Courtesy Guild Hall.
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Performa 17 takes place from November 1 to 19, 2017 at various venues in New York City. For details and a performance schedule, visit www.17.performa-arts.org. T
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