Jenny Holzer’s 'Truisms': Power, Language, and the Poetics of Resistance

Jenny Holzer, a leading voice in conceptual and feminist art, has spent decades shaping public consciousness through language. Her renowned Truisms series,  concise, provocative aphorisms that blur the line between truth and contradiction, has appeared across billboards, LED signs, and city walls. Yet one of the most striking iterations of the series lies not in neon light or concrete, but in the warm, tactile surface of cherrywood screen prints. This body of work offers a powerful intersection of material, message, and medium, transforming her signature text-based practice into an intimate yet forceful visual experience.

Jenny Holzer by Maciek Kobielski for Harper's Bazaar

The Origins of Truisms

Originally developed in the late 1970s, Holzer's Truisms are a collection of over 300 one-liners that reflect on power, identity, politics, and social norms. Phrases such as “ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE” and “PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT” confront viewers with stark, sometimes uncomfortable truths—or half-truths. Drawing inspiration from slogans, propaganda, and moral proverbs, Holzer distills complex cultural narratives into sharp, digestible fragments. The ambiguity of each statement forces the viewer into a space of reflection, interrogation, or even disagreement.

Text Meets Material: Cherrywood as Canvas

Holzer’s decision to screen print her Truisms onto cherrywood panels introduces a new dimension to her practice. Cherrywood, with its rich tones and fine grain, brings a warmth and permanence to the otherwise transient nature of language. Unlike her LED installations or projections that flash momentarily in the public eye, these prints are grounded—deliberate, still, and quietly confrontational. The pairing of machine-printed phrases with a natural, organic surface reflects a tension central to Holzer’s work: the mechanization of language versus the humanity it affects.

In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive and You Were Full of Joy, 2018

 

Visual Simplicity, Conceptual Depth

The aesthetic of the cherrywood Truisms is clean, direct, and devoid of ornamentation. The typography—stark and sans-serif—commands attention without distraction. By removing all decorative flourishes, Holzer allows the words to speak for themselves. Yet within that simplicity lies immense power. Each phrase, stamped into the surface of the wood, feels both timeless and deeply contemporary. The wood grain becomes a metaphorical ground for cultural commentary—each print a kind of secular tablet or artifact of collective conscience.

Language as Weapon and Mirror

At the heart of Holzer’s Truisms is a belief in the potency of language to shape, manipulate, and reflect society. By presenting contradictory ideas side by side—“FREEDOM IS A LUXURY NOT A NECESSITY” against “PEOPLE WHO DON'T WORK WITH THEIR HANDS ARE PARASITES”—Holzer refuses to offer easy answers. Instead, she encourages a critical engagement with the words we live by. On cherrywood, these statements gain an almost archival quality, reminding us that ideologies—like the wood itself—are deeply embedded, layered, and lasting.

Truisms (Set of 12), 2018

A Feminist and Political Gesture

Holzer’s work has long been situated at the crossroads of feminist critique and institutional commentary. The Truisms on cherrywood are no exception. By inscribing politically charged language into a traditionally masculine, material medium—wood panels associated with permanence, labor, and craftsmanship—Holzer reclaims space for voices and narratives often excluded from art history’s canon. The result is a radical form of inscription: a testament to both protest and poetry.

Conclusion

Jenny Holzer’s Truisms screen printed on cherrywood stand as quietly powerful monuments to the weight of words. Melding conceptual rigour with material presence, these works distill decades of social critique into compact visual forms. They ask us not only to read, but to question—to carry their provocations into our daily lives. In a world saturated with information and overwhelmed by messaging, Holzer’s cherrywood Truisms remain deeply human: resolute, thoughtful, and profoundly urgent.