Around the same time, Rosler began exploring video, which was then becoming popular among feminist artists as an affordable way to make and share work without the institutional support that was often denied them.
This resulted in another of her best-known works, “Semiotics of the Kitchen” (1975).
As her actions become increasingly violent — Rosler uses a manual juicer like she’s breaking a neck — the hostess’s rage takes on broader significance.
“The fact that video sucked was part of what made it exciting,” Rosler told me; it allowed her to make work that no one would judge on its aesthetic qualities.
It’s possible, even, to find echoes of Rosler in the amateur videography of TikTok, where every user is the head of their own surreal public access network.
Persons:
Rosler, Mika Rottenberg, it’s, Carmen Herrera, Hilma af Klint
Organizations:
Rosler, Guggenheim
Locations:
Argentine Israeli, Saar, New York