Jenny Holzer - Inflammatory Essays

Jenny Holzer’s Inflammatory Essays 3 is a landmark LED artwork that brings her provocative, text-based practice into an intimate, collectible multiple. This hand-signed, numbered electronic LED panel displays a rotating excerpt from Holzer’s Inflammatory Essays, material first written in 1979–82, transforming incendiary prose into a luminous, kinetic print-like object. The piece compresses Holzer’s core concerns—power, language, and public address—into a compact sculptural artwork that functions as both a text and a lighted display. As a limited edition of 100, this LED artwork is a rare opportunity to collect a signature example of Holzer’s widely influential use of language as public art.

Excerpt from Jenny Holzer’s LED sign Inflammatory Essays 3:

MONDAY, someone died because he hurt me so I cut him without thinking. TUESDAY, some animal dies because he was too dangerous to be free. WEDNESDAY, a thief died so everyone will know to respect private property. THURSDAY, some politico died because his ideas were crazy and too contagious. FRIDAY, some rapist died because he left his victim wishing she was dead. He had to die wishing he was alive. SATURDAY, I killed a condemned man so no one else would get blood on their hands. SUNDAY, I rested. MONDAY, six people jumped me so I cut them without thinking.

People must pay for what they hold, for what they steal. You have lived off the fat of the land. Now you are the pig who is ready for slaughter. You are the old enemy, the new victim. When you do something awful expect retribution in kind. Look over your shoulder. Someone is following. The poor you have robbed and ignored are impatient. Plead innocent; your squeals invite torture. Promise to be good; your lies excite and inflame. You are too depraved to reform, too treacherous to spare, too hideous for mercy. Run! Jump! Hide! Provide sport for the hunters.

Rejoice! Our times are intolerable. Take courage, for the worst is a harbinger of the best. Only dire circumstance can precipitate the overthrow of the oppressors. The old and corrupt must be laid to waste before the just can triumph. Opposition identifies and isolates the enemy. Conflict of interest must be seen for what it is. Do not support palliative gestures; they confuse the people and delay the inevitable confrontation. Delay is not tolerated for it jeopardizes the well-being of the majority. Contradiction will be heightened, the reckoning will be hastened by the staging of seed disturbances. The apocalypse will blossom.

Repressing sex urges is so bad. Poison dams up inside and then it must come out. When sex is held back too long it comes out fast and wild. It can do a lot of harm. Innocent people get shot or cut by confused sex urges. They don’t know what hit them until too late. Parents should let children express themselves so they don’t get mean early. Adults should make sure they find many outlets. All people should respond to big sex needs. Don’t make fun of individuals and send them away. It’s better to volunteer than to get forced.

Ruin your fucking self before they do. Otherwise they’ll screw you because you’re a nobody. They’ll keep you alive but you’ll have to crawl and say “thank-you” for every bone they throw. You might as well stay drunk or shoot junk and be a crazy fucker. If the rich guys want to play with you, make them get their hands dirty. Send them away gagging, or sobbing if they’re soft-hearted. You’ll be left alone if you’re frightening, and dead you’re free! You can change the radiant child in you to a reflection of the shit you were meant to serve.

Jenny Holzer, born in 1950 in Gallipolis, Ohio, is a seminal figure in contemporary art, renowned for her text-based artworks that bridge public art projects, political activism, and an astute critique of language's societal roles. Holzer's art employs a variety of media, including LED signs, projections, prints, and paintings, to explore how words serve both as tools for communication and mechanisms of concealment. Her pioneering approach is rooted in a fascination with the advertising world's command of language, driving her to deliver messages that blend seamlessly with the urban landscape yet disrupt and provoke public discourse. Central to Jenny Holzer's practice are her public installations, which utilize commercial and architectural spaces to display enigmatic yet pointed phrases addressing consumerism, power, and vulnerability. Artworks like “protect me from what I want” and “abuse of power comes as no surprise” exemplify her ability to distill complex ideas into accessible, resonant statements that encourage reflection and debate among a wide audience. Holzer's choice of language as her primary medium stems from a desire to engage directly with the public, offering content that resonates beyond the traditional confines of the art world. In addition to her public projects, Holzer's printmaking and painting ventures further showcase her commitment to examining the dynamics of language. Through these artworks, she invites audiences to critically engage with the nuances of spoken and unspoken words, highlighting the profound impact of language on perception and behavior. Jenny Holzer's contributions to contemporary art have been recognized with numerous awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1990. Her extensive exhibition history spans globally renowned institutions, such as the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Barbican Centre, and Tate.
Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays 3