Martha Rosler. Positions in a Life-World

This first comprehensive monograph with an annotated catalogue raisonné on Martha Rosler (Brooklyn, New York) was published to accompany her retrospective at the Generali Foundation in Vienna (12 May–8 August 1999), co-organizer of an exhibition tour that traveled in Europe and to New York between 1998 and 2000. In addition to an interview with the artist, essays by prominent authors looking at the work from different perspectives and two important critical essays by Martha Rosler herself are published. An illustrated and annotated list of works as well as a biography and bibliography of Martha Rosler convey the entire spectrum of this outstanding artistic personality.

Since the late 1960s, Martha Rosler has taken a stand on current, socially relevant issues in bitingly critical but also humorous works. These include food as a social and economic factor, the position of women in society, the role of mass media, especially in war, and urban issues. Many works have a personal, anecdotal character, although it is unclear whether the background is autobiographical or fictional. Martha Rosler has created influential works in the media of photography, performance, video, and installation, but also as an author of critical and theoretical essays. In the 1990s, her multifaceted oeuvre once again gained great significance, especially for the younger generation.