
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Barbara Kruger American, b. 1945
Untitled (FATE), 2001
Chromogenic dye coupler print, in artist's frame
85 x 49 inches
Edition of 10
Untitled (FATE) features this iconic blend of text and found image: a cropped, close-up image of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike with open mouth and impossibly white teeth is overlaid with...
Untitled (FATE) features this iconic blend of text and found image: a cropped, close-up image of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike with open mouth and impossibly white teeth is overlaid with the word “FATE”. Deeply influenced by her time as a magazine editorial designer during her early career, Kruger employs the strong imagery and bold typography associated with the field. The resulting image is emblematic of her longstanding engagement with the linguistic and pictorial conventions of advertising and consumer culture. A key work in Kruger’s "Virtues and Vices" series in which the same female face is overlaid with words associated with vice (evil, fear, envy, lust) or virtue (good, love pray, etc), Untitled (FATE) stands apart from others, its meaning more morally ambiguous than the others.