Home Open Arts Object: Martha Rosler, 1970s postcard novel

Open Arts Object: Martha Rosler, 1970s postcard novel

Dr Amy Charlesworth examines a postcard novel project undertaken between 1976-1978 by the American artist Martha Rosler. In this short film, Dr Charlesworth explores how such a work is connected to the politics of 1970s America, a period in which Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation profoundly altered the fabric of society. This tripartite work details three experiences of women undertaking the activity of cooking, but from three very different perspectives. In this video the social context of the time is seen as not simply as backdrop to the work but explored through the process of close looking at the art object, revealing connections to the social landscape from which the art work emerged. 

Transcript of film

Related resources:

Teaching support sheet

Student handout

This film is also available on our youtube channel

Related links:

Interview with Martha Rosler 

Eleanor Antin  

Short biography of Martha Rosler 

To find related items:

See the following themes:

Art and Politics; Anti-art; Avant-Garde; Capitalism; Colonialism; Conceptual Art; Documentary; Exhibition; Feminism; Gender; Interdisciplinary; Private and Public; Visual Culture

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