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Untitled (We are your circumstantial evidence)
Untitled (We are your circumstantial evidence), 1983
Barbara Kruger, American
Gelatin silver prints (three)
Framed (a): 49 x 97 x 2 inches (124.5 x 246.4 x 5.1 cm) Framed (b): 49 x 97 x 2 inches (124.5 x 246.4 x 5.1 cm) Framed (c): 49 x 97 x 2 inches (124.5 x 246.4 x 5.1 cm)
Gift of Henry S. McNeil, Jr., 1985
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First Look

  • Describe the person in this picture. Who could she be?
  • Why is the mirror broken?
  • What is "circumstantial evidence?" (Use a dictionary.)
  • Which words are pronouns? To whom do you think they refer? Why?
  • How do you think Barbara Kruger made this picture? Explain why.

Second Look

  • How are the words arranged on the picture? How would you describe the typeface? What feelings does the design of the words give you?
  • What does this combination of image and words communicate to you?
  • Imagine a man's or child's face in this picture. How would this change the artwork's meaning?



Connect and Compare

  • Compare portrayals of women and men in artworks throughout history.
  • What is propaganda? When is art with a political message propaganda? What political messages do public sculptures in your community suggest?
  • Look at works by contemporary feminist artists Jenny Holzer, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems. How did advertising, popular culture, and social issues inspire their works?

Related Art Project

Identify several issues confronting society today in newspapers and magazines. Choose one that is meaningful to you and write several paragraphs explaining different points of view on it. Find a black-and-white photograph and a word or phrase that expresses your point of view. Using a photocopier, try cropping and enlarging the image. Use peel-off letters or a computer printout to experiment with typefaces and create the words. Which issues and points of view are expressed by the class? Do any communicate a point of view that you oppose?

This object is included in Five Women Artists, a set of teaching posters and resource book produced by the Division of Education and made possible by generous grants from Delphi Financial Group and Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company.



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