Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler  

Martha Rosler is another artist who I have come across in my research. Her work takes many forms including performance, video, text, instillations and photomontages. The majority of her work in made from the perspective of a woman. Her feminist art looks to challenge the representation and expectations of women. In her works entitled Cold Meat I, Cold Meat II, Damp Meat (see fig. 1) and Hot Meat (see fig. 2). 

Rosler combines images of naked women with domestic appliances. These works show how the female body is commodified, she compares it to food. “I was always interested in addressing people, primarily women but not only women, with the idea that you recognise me for other human beings” (Rosler Quoted in Murg). She uses images of women in magazines from the 1960s and the 1970s. She believes the tradition views of women still have a startling hold on women today. One image that stuck out was Cleaning the Drapes (see fig. 3), it shows a women vacuuming the curtains, whilst the spilt reveals a scene of soldiers. This contrasts the domestic view of women with the way the media showed people images of the Vietnam war, these images came to people through televisions which were relatively new. 

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Figures

Fig. 1. Rosler, M. Damp Meat [Photograph – Online] At: www.martharosler.net/photo.body/damp-meat.html/ (Accessed on 18th of November 2019).  

Fig. 2. Rosler, M. Hot Meat [Photograph – Online] At: www.martharosler.net/photo/body/hot_meat.html(Accessed on 18th of November 2019).  

Fig. 3. Rosler, M. Cleaning the Drapes [Photography – Online] At: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/150123?artist_id=6832&locate=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist (Accessed on 18th of November 2019).  

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Bibliography

Murg, S. Interview with Martha Rosler, the Artist who speaks softly but carries a big shtick. At: https://pinupmagazine.org/articles/interview-with-brooklyn-artist-martha-rosler-jewish-museum-nyc-survey-show (Accessed on 18th of November 2019).

Woodward, D (2016) Three Radical Female Collage Artists You Need to Know. At: https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8849/three-radical-female-collage-artists-you-need-to-know(Accessed on 18th of November 2019).