ANALYZING

ARTWORK
BARBARA KRUGER
By: Gkresia Nikolaidi
 Who is Barbara Kruger

She is a conceptual artist who uses her

art to express her hatred of communism
and the treatment of women.

On January 26, 1945, she was born.

New Jersey, a state in the United States, is

the place she was born.
What do you know, or can you find
out about the artist that might help
you know the artist’s intentions?
■ Barbara Kruger addresses her piece on global issues such as
societal roles, politics, mass media, sexuality, identity, and others. 

■ When she was born, and her sex.

■ Even though we don’t have that much knowledge of historical

events looking at their specific dates, it is quite simple to assume
that eventually, women didn’t have many of the rights they may
have nowadays.
 What is happening right now
regarding that worldwide
problem:
■ Women's rights that may answer the present
demands for rights include:
- Equal Pay
- Job openings
- Voting rights
- Right to speak out
- Access to education and health care
- Own a property
■ Choose what to do with their body choose
whether to become a parent
■ Correct sexual discrimination based on looks
What we will being
analyzing:

■ Name of the
piece:
'Your body is a
battleground’

■ Date published:
1989
 Materials:
■ These were some of the
primary materials utilized
while transferring the image
to vinyl.

■ Due to recent innovative

advancements, these could
be more closely related to
more contemporary art
pieces, but they are
essentially the same.
What are the significant
visual elements?
■ Why is this statement here? is raised by the large letters that stick out.
■ We can notice how the red and white colors contrast with one another.
■ The banner is prominent.
■ The woman's face is split into two halves and has two distinct black-
and-white contrasts in the artwork.
■ The left side has a negative filter on it, while the right side has a
straightforward black-and-white filter.
■ Then, we may draw attention to the visual characteristics of the
woman in the image.
■ For example, the grain which represents the texture of the
photograph stands for the period in which this artwork was made and
visually symbolizes the pores on the face.
■ This gives the image a more dramatic aspect.
■ She has her hair pulled back, which might be a representation of
gender equality as both men and women can have short hair.
■ Additionally, this can be a representation of how their hair is styled so
that it doesn't get in the way of her.
 Does the title or date provide clues to placing the
work and its meaning in context?

■ The phrase "Your body is a battleground" in the title

might refer to an internal battle.
■ This entails the fact that opposing events, in this case, a
body, are happening in this arena; the body. 
■ Without the title and image together and in context, it is
difficult to fully understand the meaning of the piece.
■ So, it follows that the fight within a woman's body
which is the topic of discussion in this statement.
■ We can assume that the message refers to the stages a
woman undergoes.
■ However, if we know more about the context in which
this piece was displayed, we can connect it all and see
that this simply refers to abortion.
 Social Background:
■ Sharing her thoughts and serving as an inspirational female advocate for feminism.

■ Regarding the development of women's rights, the 1980s were successful because they saw a rise in
yearly incomes and equality.

■ According to nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org, the Supreme Court upheld states' rights in 1989 to

forbid public hospitals from performing abortions and to reject continue providing public funds for such
services. 1

■ In relation to this piece of art, we may be explicitly analyzing abortion and evaluating it as well as what we
should dress like in accordance with what society perceives as "correct”.

1 Detailed timeline. National Women's History Alliance. (2018, October 23). Retrieved October 26, 2022, from
https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/ 
 First Impression:
■ It's possible that our attention is on the red banner and
not the white letters. The message that a woman's
body is a battleground is inscribed on top of them.
■ This prompted a lot of ideas in our thoughts about
possible interpretations of this.
■ The symmetry in half of the faces can be observed as
a contrast, and despite the desaturated colors, the
determination in the women's eyes as they turn to face
the observer is visible.
■ The image may be seen as with a positive connotation
on the left, representing what women must exhibit to
conform to society—they are wearing makeup—and a
negative connotation on the left, showing how there is
no difference between men and women if they are
wearing the same "filter."
■ The woman's facial expressions indicate how strong
these women are while debating this issue, and that
refusing to adjust this isn't an option.
 ■ This piece of art contributes to the idea of limiting women's
Message access to abortion freedom.

transmitted: ■ This artwork was produced as a means of protest in favor of

the freedom we should have to reproduce, as there was a
significant movement led by the Supreme Court in 1989 and
several marches this year as a result of the country's current
anti-abortion laws.

■ However, there are a ton of other ways to learn and

comprehend this piece using the flexibility to move your
body however you choose, regardless of the situation.

■ Due to some of the traits I mentioned before, including the

hair tied up, which may suggest that women also have short
hair, this might also be perceived by the gender equality
protest.
 VISUAL
ELEMENTS
AND
PRINCIPLE
S:
 Color:
■ The attractiveness of the artwork is greatly influenced by color selection.

■ Since the color combination creates the artwork more interesting to the viewer and allows viewers to
interpret it as it is.

■ Any work of art benefited significantly from the use of color because it gives the work life.

■ The viewers are influenced despite the absence of vivid color. We may perceive the contrast between the
protagonists' faces on both sides due to the use of colors and shades.

■ Furthermore, red, which is seen as a dominant and predetermined color, as well as the white of the
letters, which create a two-dimensional outline, give the illusion of three dimensions, but this is really an
illusion created by the way these colors are combined.

■ Kruger frequently employs the colors black, red, and white in her works; this is also a type of technique
used to represent her paintings, enabling viewers to recognize here that a piece was made by her without
needing to be seeing her signature.
 Value, Space, Scale and Balance:
■ Because the photograph is already in black and white, it
is simple to indicate the value here, allowing a clearer
representation of the space occupied by the woman in
the artwork.
■ Half of her face is shown in black and white, and the
other half has altered saturation and contrast. The focal
point of the composition is this.
■ This influences viewers' attention because we cannot
see anything else in the artwork. It enables this to take
center stage.
■ Additionally allowing for greater emphasis on the
woman and the title, the white lightning in the
background makes this stand out.
■ By contrasting the two sides of the woman's face, the
viewer can comprehend how the identical image may be
changed to appear more dominating by value.
■ The face's size is indeed very proportional in this image,
allowing us to establish the scale. If we draw an
imaginary line through the center of the face, we can
see that the scale is just about 1:1.
 SIMILAR PIECES:
•We may see how interrelated all these pieces are.

•The same colors.

•The same strong message is represented in simple ways.

•Aiming to oppress the current issue she is trying to address.

•Opening eyes to show reality and trying to pursue people to fight back for their rights.
How could the author have created the
piece in a more powerfull way
■ If Barbara Kruger had chosen an image of a pregnant woman
with a helpless expression and represented abortion as her
intended message, in my opinion, she would have effectively
communicated her message.

■ This is because it may have made sense when the piece was on
display, but now that we are talking about it, it is less evident.

■ I like the color scheme she's chosen and the effects-creating

techniques she provides, but I still feel the image she used to
represent women is too general; if it was intended to convey a
particular message, a more focused image would have been
more effective.
 Sources:
■ Barbara Kruger. HA! (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from
https://historia-arte.com/artistas/barbara-kruger 
■ Detailed timeline. National Women's History Alliance. (2018, October 23). Retrieved October 26,
2022, from https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-
timeline/ 
■ Hore-Thorburn, W. B. I., & Editor, I. H.-T. A. (2020, December 18). Why Barbara Kruger's message
is poignant for Poland. Highsnobiety. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from
https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/barbara-kruger-your-body-is-a-battleground-poland/ 
■ Hagen, I. van. (2020, November 24). Barbara Kruger's "Untitled (your body is a battleground)"
changed my life. Artsy. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-
editorial-artwork-changed-life-barbara-krugers-untitled-body-battleground
■ InlySchool. (2019, June 20). Visual art classes: Upper Elementary examines the elements of art. Inly
Insights. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://inlyinsights.org/2019/06/20/visual-art-classes-
upper-elementary-examines-the-elements-of-art/