Her words have streamed along walls, scrambled across the landscapes of Buenos Aires and Berlin, Chicago and Cannes. For decades, they have challenged the mind as much as they have illuminated the structures that have held them upright.

 

Her name is Jenny Holzer, and her latest work, “Truisms and Survival for Syracuse,” now fills the Urban Video Project at Syracuse Stage. Two hundred and seventy-two proclamations scroll – and sometimes flash – along the glass façade and subtly transform the urban aesthetic at the corner of East Genesee Street and Irving Avenue.

 

THE IDEA OF REVOLUTION IS AN ADOLESCENT FANTASY

 

A LOT OF PROFESSIONALS ARE CRACKPOTS

 

The cycle marches on, inviting any passers-by to partake in Holzer’s reflections. Many messages have, at first-glance, the feel of 1960’s revolutionary-speak, yet they connect to diverse audiences on multiple levels. To uncertain youth and calculating professionals: “Ensure that your life stays in flux.” To ambivalent leaders and frenzied parents: “Going with the flow is soothing but risky.” To all of us who may sometimes feel adrift: “A solid home base builds a sense of self.”

 

“It catches your eye and makes you stop,” notes one individual. “It reminds me of Times Square.” An apt observation, given this piece is a variant of Holzer’s “Truisms,” a composition that was displayed on posters and projectors, in telephone booths, and on a Times Square video screen in 1982. The Syracuse version has evolved to include 36 statements selected from “Survival,” another series she ran from 1983 to 1985.

 

The next time you’re searching for something to do, take your family or some friends down to Syracuse Stage and watch the words roll by. Contemplate them. What meaning do they have in your life, in this place and at this moment? Engage others in these conversations.

 

As you will no doubt discover, “a single event can have infinitely many interpretations.” Indeed.

 

About the Urban Video Project (UVP):  UVP is a multimedia, public art initiative of Light Work and Syracuse University that operates three exhibition sites along the Connective Corridor. The mission of UVP is to present exhibitions and projects that celebrate the arts and culture of Syracuse and engage artists and the creative community around the world.