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For Immediate Release

Washington, DC — July 16, 2004 — Americans for the Arts today presented the second annual Public Art Network (PAN) Award to Jenny Holzer at its annual meeting held in Washington, DC.  The Public Art Network Award was created to recognize and honor innovative and creative contributions and commitment in the field of public art.

“Jenny Holzer is among the most innovative, thought provoking, and galvanizing artists in America today,” said Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts.  “Jenny has consistently articulated what the rest of us cannot.  Her innovation and creativity are unparalleled.”

Jenny Holzer has been using the public setting to present her astringent ideas, arguments, and sorrows in public places and international exhibitions.  Beginning in the late 1970s with the Truisms and Inflammatory Essays posters that Holzer plastered to the walls of New York City buildings to her recent xenon projections on prominent facades, her texts and practices have rivaled ignorance and violence with humor, kindness, and moral courage.  Her work has been shown worldwide in prominent institutions such as the Venice Biennale (Venice, Italy), The Institute of Contemporary Art London (London, England), and the Centre Pompidou (Paris, France). 

Holzer’s most recent work, Truth Before Power, is on display at the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria through September 5, 2004.  The exhibition explores the United States government’s complex political relations with the Middle East from the end of the Second World War to the present, the United States’ current “war” on terrorism, the consequences of 9/11 and ensuing debate, the theory and practice of intelligence and counter-intelligence, and the problem of achieving a just and workable balance between secrecy and transparency.

The Public Art Network, a program of Americans for the Arts, is designed to provide services to the diverse field of public art and to develop strategies and tools to improve communities through public art.  The Network’s constituents are public art professionals, visual artists, design professionals, and communities and organizations planning public art projects and programs.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, it has a record of more than 40 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

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