PALM, FINGERS & FINGERTIPS (RIGHT HAND) 000394 2007

Jenny Holzer made this intriguing print, Palm, Fingers & Fingertips (Right Hand), in 2004. It's not paint, but the process of inking and printing captures a kind of fleshy index of a person's presence. The handprint itself is light and smudgy, full of imperfections, like a ghost trapped on the page. The heavy black bars over the fingers and palm feel aggressive, yet vulnerable, like the memory is being obscured. These bars obscure the information that the print gives, and make me think about the nature of secrets, and the power of withholding. Holzer often uses text and found documents, and this print continues her exploration of how language and images shape our understanding of power and control. Think about Jasper Johns and his use of the American flag as a symbol, transformed into art. Holzer, like Johns, is interested in how familiar images can be destabilized, leaving us questioning what we thought we knew.