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In 1989, Jenny Holzer released the Laments series to the Dia Art Foundation in New York; this installation consisted of columns of colored lights and carved marble and granite tops that made up the laments. Holzer uses the passages she had read while being a part of the Whitney Independent Study Program by simplifying them for public consumption and applying them to her phrases. This series not only provokes thought in her audience through the constant reminder of death and sorrow but also exposes them to sources they normally wouldn’t come across. In an interview Holzer mentions that she uses the first person “I” simply to give the impression that a dead person is speaking and therefore make the installation more interesting to her audience. In Laments Jenny gave a voice to 13 different dead individuals, to say everything they might not have gotten the opportunity to while alive. She touches on topics like motherhood, violation, pain, torture, and even death on a personal level to these 13 individuals.  Although Laments focuses mostly on the darkness of humanity and the tragedies we face daily there is also hidden optimism in the 13 laments.