Jenny Holzer grew up in the American Midwest, and her work has been influenced by the snappy statements she heard around her daily. She also recalls that as a child she made drawings on great lengths of paper in which she tried to include everything because 'I guess I had a hard time making choices . . . so I'd figure perhaps I could get it perfect if I put everything in. The total thing would be complete even if the individual parts weren't.' Her work first appeared in public in 1977 when she bill-posted texts consisting of lists of frequently disturbing but often witty aphorisms (short, pithy statements) around Times Square in New York. Since then, similar texts have appeared in various forms, such as electronically, between public information announcements in airport lounges and banks, as well as in poster form. The portfolio from which this piece comes is a printed edition of some of her earlier bill-posted work.