Known for using body parts to express challenges of traditional art history.

Martha Rosler is a political artist who since the 60s, has thought about the belonging and position of “image” in American culture. She uses videography and collage to communicate her work – relying on photos published in the press. Not only does she appreciate these mediums for their direct link to the production of images in our industrial societies but also for their accessibility. Rosler uses body parts to express challenges women face in society often with wit and humour. Rosler also focuses of creating photo collages to address war and the home, equalising subject matter with her wit and swift scalpel.

Image 5 shows a print that contains a breast on a cooker – the title of the work, Kitchen I or Hot Meat, is a neat analogy for the sexual politics and unreconstructed male views of women prevalent at the time. I have been really inspired by these images and really see it being used as the art work to my surreal room for my end of year show. Martha Rosler’s works are heavily based on politics and addressing sexist concerns in society. Seeing as my theme is surrealism, at the moment I’m not sure how to approach making my own. I love the idea of manipulating the use of everyday objects and the image above is how I’ve drawn inspiration on this idea – cooker = woman’s body.

I think that my next step needs to be an exploration of artists who made surreal collages – I feel like looking into the context of some of the artists and why they made the work they did might help me push forward.