Words on an untitled artwork (1985)
 • Taken directly from Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Mépris.
• A takeoff on the quote "Whenever I hear the word 'Culture,' I reach for my revolver," from Hans Johst, Schlageter (1933), act I, scene I (actual quote: Wenn ich Kultur höre … entsichere ich meinen Browning! [Whenever I hear of culture... I release the safety-catch of my Browning!])
 • Paraphrased from The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, '"When I heard the word 'culture,'" said Dr. Sarvis "I reach for my checkbook."' pg. 109
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When I hear the word Culture I take out my checkbook

— Barbara Kruger

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When I hear the word Culture I take out my checkbook" in the context of "Words on an untitled artwork (1985)
 • Taken directly from Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Mépris.
• A takeoff on the quote "Whenever I hear the word 'Culture,' I reach for my revolver," from Hans Johst, Schlageter (1933), act I, scene I (actual quote: Wenn ich Kultur höre … entsichere ich meinen Browning! [Whenever I hear of culture... I release the safety-catch of my Browning!])
 • Paraphrased from The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, '"When I heard the word 'culture,'" said Dr. Sarvis "I reach for my checkbook."' pg. 109" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Barbara Kruger" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Barbara Kruger

About Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger (born 26 January, 1945) is an American conceptual artist.