--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think pictures and words have the power…" description: "\"I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor.\" — Barbara Kruger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png" --- # I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich… ![“I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor.” quote by Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png) > “I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor.” [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Images and language shape economic status, influencing wealth and poverty **In simple terms:** Words and pictures affect wealth Key Takeaway Use media critically to understand power dynamics Themes media economics power Mood critical provocative Type artistic sociological When to use this quote - advertising - political campaigns - education curricula Key Concepts visual culture semiotics social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do visual messages affect your spending? - What role does language play in economic inequality? A Different Perspective Impact may be indirect and hard to measure ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Make Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-rich-642169/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Pictures and words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-and-words/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Rich or poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-or-poor/) [Rich poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-poor/) [Think Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-pictures-1468969/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Words Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-power/) ## Related quotes > [The so-called language of Barbara Kruger is vernacular language. Obviously, I pick through bits and pieces of it and figure out to some degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/the-so-called-language-of-barbara-kruger-is-vernacular-language/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I'm an artist who works with pictures and words. Sometimes that stuff ends up in different kinds of sites and contexts which determine what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-m-an-artist-who-works-with-pictures-and-words-sometimes-that-stuff/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [It entered the visual vocabulary of photographers, painters and sculptors and focused on what pictures and words look like and what they can mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/it-entered-the-visual-vocabulary-of-photographers-painters-and/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I just say I'm an artist who works with pictures and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-just-say-i-m-an-artist-who-works-with-pictures-and-words/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I work with pictures and words because they have the ability to determine who we are, what we want to be and what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-work-with-pictures-and-words-because-they-have-the-ability-to/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [The truth about people at every economic level of life is you get those who are kind and who are not, those who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavid-hood/the-truth-about-people-at-every-economic-level-of-life-is-you-get/) [Gavid Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavid-hood/) > [“Do good to all people, rich or poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/do-good-to-all-people-rich-or-poor/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The future generation is not divided by rich or poor but fast and slow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alwintoffler/the-future-generation-is-not-divided-by-rich-or-poor-but-fast-and-slow/) [alwinToffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alwintoffler/) > [As you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don't think you are the most important being on earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/as-you-grow-up-always-tell-the-truth-do-no-harm-to-others-and-don-t/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Without peace there can be no prosperity for any people, rich or poor. 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The only rich man is he that with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-chamberlain/men-are-not-rich-or-poor-according-to-what-they-possess-but-to-what/) [Roger Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-chamberlain/) > [Whether you are rich or poor Don't think about ego's and popularity look at each person as an independent human being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whether-you-are-rich-or-poor-don-t-think-about-ego-s-and-popularity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Barbara Kruger > [I have frequently said, and I will repeat again, in the manner of any well-meaning seriality, that I'm interested in mixing the ingratiation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-have-frequently-said-and-i-will-repeat-again-in-the-manner-of-any/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I'm trying to deal with ideas about histories, fame, hearsay, and how public identities are constructed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-m-trying-to-deal-with-ideas-about-histories-fame-hearsay-and-how/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I like suggesting that ‘we are slaves to the objects around us,’ that ‘plenty should be enough,’ or that the ‘buyer should beware,’ within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-like-suggesting-that-we-are-slaves-to-the-objects-around-us-that/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Money talks. It makes art. It determines what food we eat, whether we are cured or die, and what shoes we wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/money-talks-it-makes-art-it-determines-what-food-we-eat-whether-we/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I'm living my life, not buying a lifestyle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-m-living-my-life-not-buying-a-lifestyle/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [It's good to keep in mind that prominence is always a mix of hard work, eloquence in your practice, good timing and fortuitous social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/it-s-good-to-keep-in-mind-that-prominence-is-always-a-mix-of-hard/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Direct address has been a consistent tactic in my work, regardless of the medium that I'm working in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/direct-address-has-been-a-consistent-tactic-in-my-work-regardless-of/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Prominence is cool, but when the delusion kicks in it can be a drag. Especially if you choose to surround yourself with friends and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/prominence-is-cool-but-when-the-delusion-kicks-in-it-can-be-a-drag/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I want people to be drawn into the space of the work. And a lot of people are like me in that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-want-people-to-be-drawn-into-the-space-of-the-work-and-a-lot-of/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [“Your comfort is my silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/your-comfort-is-my-silence/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I believe that who we are, and consequently the work that we make, whether we're visual artists or writers or journalists or filmmakers, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-believe-that-who-we-are-and-consequently-the-work-that-we-make/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Love is something you fall into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/love-is-something-you-fall-into/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Memory is your image of perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/memory-is-your-image-of-perfection/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [I mean, making art is about objectifying your experience of the world, transforming the flow of moments into something visual, or textual, or musical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-mean-making-art-is-about-objectifying-your-experience-of-the-world/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Do you know why language manifests itself the way it does in my work? It's because I understand short attention spans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/do-you-know-why-language-manifests-itself-the-way-it-does-in-my-work/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) [Explore all 91 Barbara Kruger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Kruger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-power-to-make-us-rich-or-poor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-power-to-make-us-rich-or-poor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/barbara-kruger-7415_art_i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-powe_1428334.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think pictures and words have the power to make us rich or poor.” — Barbara Kruger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Kruger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think pictures and words have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-power-to-make-us-rich-or-poor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-pictures-and-words-have-the-power-to-make-us-rich-or-poor/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```