Jenny Holzer’s “truisms” enliven the American Art Museum’s Lincoln Gallery

Reflecting a bright, white light upon the arched galleries and marble floors of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s historic Lincoln Gallery, Jenny Holzer’s new text-based installation, “For SAAM,” grabs the attention like a Times Square marquee. Wrapped around a 28-foot column packed with light-emitting diodes, foot-tall characters in varying fonts scroll an endless litany of short statements, or “truisms,” that have long been Holzer’s artistic calling card. The sculpture features texts taken from four of Holzer’s series “Truisms,” “Living,” “Survival” and “Arno.”

Unlike a public marquee however, viewers must struggle to read the sentences on the sculpture. Focusing on just one line of text is like listening to a single conversation in room filled with loud voices—concentration is required. Those who persevere are rewarded with such statements as: “Having two or three people in love with you is like money in the bank,” “Reptiles don’t show much but are valued as exotica,” or “Rechanneling destructive impulses is a sign of maturity.” The sculpture offers no time to ponder the meaning of the statements before one vanishes and another takes its place.

Since the late 1970s, Holzer has exhibited her text-based art in public places in such cities as Paris, Rome, Venice, Buenos Aires, Berlin and New York. Her truisms have appeared on everything from T-shirts and granite benches to projections on large buildings and even the undulating surface of the ocean. “For SAAM,” is the first major light-emitting diode piece by Holzer in a Washington, D.C., museum collection and is the only work by Holzer on public view in the city. The sculpture is a site-specific installation that was commissioned by the American Art Museum.

One of the truisms that flashes across the face of “For SAAM” reads “Drama often obscures the real issues” and it would be easy to let the flashy, high-tech drama of this sculpture obscure its overall meaning. Taken as a whole, “For SAAM” seems to embody a few insights not found on its vibrant surface: Truth has hundreds of guises. Truth’s perception is fleeting. It is up to you to sort out what it all means.