Martha Rosler: 3 Works: 1. The Restoration of High Culture in Chile; 2. The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems; 3. in, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography) [Paperback]

Martha Rosler (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

In 3 Works, photographer and critic Martha Rosler braids together three classic, newly relevant pieces tracing the ways in which photography's aesthetic conventions and social practices fail or succeed in generating socially meaningful work--work that not only takes into account the political conditions within which it was produced and assumes social and political responsibility but also activates the viewer. The title three works are The Restoration of High Culture in Chile, a 1972 short fiction piece-cum-essay that examines the degrees of political anaesthesia and corruption a successful adaptation to high culture implies, The Bowery in two inadequate descriptive systems, a 1974 photo work in which contemporary urban photography's capacity to continue documentary photography's historical work is questioned, and in, around, and afterthoughts, a 1981 critical essay exploring these questions more systematically and attempting to develop criteria to define contemporary photographic activities as meaningful social practice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

"Martha Rosler, born in Brooklyn in 1943, works in video, photo-text, installation, and performance and writes criticism. She has lectured extensively nationally and internationally. Her work in the public sphere ranges from everyday life--often with an eye to women's experience--and the media to architecture and the built environment. She has published several books of photographs, texts and commentary on public space, ranging from airports and roads to housing and homelessness. Her work has been seen in the Documenta exhibition in Kassel, Germany; several Whitney biennials; the Institute of Contemporary Art in London; the Museum of Modern Art; the Dia Center for the Arts; and many other international venues. A retrospective of her work has been shown in five European cities and in New York at the New Museum and the International Center of Photography (2000). An accompanying book has been published by MIT Press. Her writing has been published widely in catalogs and magazines, such as Artforum, Afterimage, and NU Magazine. She has produced numerous other ""Word Works"" and photo/text publications--now exploring cookery in a mock dialogue between Julia Child and Craig Claiborne, now analyzing imagery of women in Russia or exploring responses to repression, crisis, and war."

Product Details

• Paperback: 89 pages
• Publisher: The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0919616461
• ISBN-13: 978-0919616462
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)