Interview with Barbara Kruger Barbara Kruger studied at Syracuse University, Parsons School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts. By using familiar images and text from modern advertising, Kruger forcefully exposes the misleading and aggressive lies of pop media. Her works involve humor and irony, though they are often disturbing at the same time. Kruger gained her "fluency and comfort with pictures and words" from working as a graphic designer for magazines before she became an artist in the mid-'80s.