Martha Rosler
02 Oct - 27 Nov 2011
Martha Rosler
Pull Up Those PIIGS
02.10.2011 – 27.11.2011
KuLe e.V.
In 2011/12 in collaboration with the "Façade Gallery" of KuLe e.V., the DAAD's Berliner Künstlerprogramm initiates a series of projects on the façade of Auguststrasse 10 in Berlin-Mitte. The series begins with a work by Martha Rosler in collaboration with the cartoonist Josh Neufeld. Specifically for this location in the centre of Berlin, Rosler and Neufeld take up the theme of the Euro-crisis in the form of a political caricature transferred to a large-scale banner that hangs from the façade.
Josh Neufeld is known for his-reality-based cartoons on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international finances and daily life. He is also known for collaborations with authors such as the cartoonist Harvey Pekar, the inventor of the comic that documents daily life, and the American journalist Brooke Gladstone.
Martha Rosler's art (like her various writings) has done one thing for over the past forty years: interfere and take up a position. In one of her earliest works, the collage series made of 20 photographic montages "Bringing the War Home" (1967 to 1972), Rosler combines glossy-aesthetic Architectural Digest interiors with war photography from Life magazine taken during the Vietnam War, pointing out the extreme discrepancy between happy consumerist society and its ugly political B-side. Regardless of the concerns of these works, which long ago became part of the art historical canon of the second half of the 20th century, and those of Rosler's most recent work - be it war, homelessness, gender-related injustice, gentrification, groceries and their preparation or distribution - what connects them all is her engagement and her unmistakable political motivation. Art is here understood as deeply rooted in the social struggle, far-removed from functioning as purely self-referential. And thus art must return to its production. In other words, it's about defining art as a responsibility, tracing out the blind spots and ideological gaps and, in the end, employing art as a possible channel of criticism.
Martha Rosler lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Rosler participates in numerous international solo- and group exhibitions. Recent solo shows: GAM, Turino and Casco Office for Art, Design and Theory, Utrecht (2010); Frankfurter Kunstverein (2006); Sprengel Museum Hannover and ICA, London (2005). Recent Group shows: "Untitled" (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011; "Off the Wall", Museo Serralves, Porto; "Serious Games", Institut Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, "That's the way we do it", Kunsthaus Bregenz (2011); "Modernologies", Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2010); "1969", P.S.1, New York; "1968. Die Große Unschuld", Kunsthalle Bielefeld (2009); documenta 12, Kassel (2007). In 2011 Martha Rosler is a guest of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD.
Josh Neufeld lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Neufeld is a cartoonist of political and daily life cartoons who has received many awards. He is the author of the widely received comic book: "A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge." (SMITH Magazine 2007-2008; Pantheon, 2009) on the subject of Hurricane Katrina. Neufeld is also the author/artist of the following publications: The Influencing Machine (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011); A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories From Southeast Asia & Central Europe) (self-published through a grant from the Xeric Foundation, 2004); The Vagabonds 1-2 (Alternative Comics, 2003-2006); Titans of Finance #1 with writer R. Walker (Alternative Comics, 2001); Keyhole with cartoonist Dean Haspiel (issues #1-4 Millennium/Modern, 1996; issues #5-6 Top Shelf Productions, 1997).
Pull Up Those PIIGS
02.10.2011 – 27.11.2011
KuLe e.V.
In 2011/12 in collaboration with the "Façade Gallery" of KuLe e.V., the DAAD's Berliner Künstlerprogramm initiates a series of projects on the façade of Auguststrasse 10 in Berlin-Mitte. The series begins with a work by Martha Rosler in collaboration with the cartoonist Josh Neufeld. Specifically for this location in the centre of Berlin, Rosler and Neufeld take up the theme of the Euro-crisis in the form of a political caricature transferred to a large-scale banner that hangs from the façade.
Josh Neufeld is known for his-reality-based cartoons on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international finances and daily life. He is also known for collaborations with authors such as the cartoonist Harvey Pekar, the inventor of the comic that documents daily life, and the American journalist Brooke Gladstone.
Martha Rosler's art (like her various writings) has done one thing for over the past forty years: interfere and take up a position. In one of her earliest works, the collage series made of 20 photographic montages "Bringing the War Home" (1967 to 1972), Rosler combines glossy-aesthetic Architectural Digest interiors with war photography from Life magazine taken during the Vietnam War, pointing out the extreme discrepancy between happy consumerist society and its ugly political B-side. Regardless of the concerns of these works, which long ago became part of the art historical canon of the second half of the 20th century, and those of Rosler's most recent work - be it war, homelessness, gender-related injustice, gentrification, groceries and their preparation or distribution - what connects them all is her engagement and her unmistakable political motivation. Art is here understood as deeply rooted in the social struggle, far-removed from functioning as purely self-referential. And thus art must return to its production. In other words, it's about defining art as a responsibility, tracing out the blind spots and ideological gaps and, in the end, employing art as a possible channel of criticism.
Martha Rosler lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Rosler participates in numerous international solo- and group exhibitions. Recent solo shows: GAM, Turino and Casco Office for Art, Design and Theory, Utrecht (2010); Frankfurter Kunstverein (2006); Sprengel Museum Hannover and ICA, London (2005). Recent Group shows: "Untitled" (12th Istanbul Biennial), 2011; "Off the Wall", Museo Serralves, Porto; "Serious Games", Institut Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, "That's the way we do it", Kunsthaus Bregenz (2011); "Modernologies", Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2010); "1969", P.S.1, New York; "1968. Die Große Unschuld", Kunsthalle Bielefeld (2009); documenta 12, Kassel (2007). In 2011 Martha Rosler is a guest of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD.
Josh Neufeld lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Neufeld is a cartoonist of political and daily life cartoons who has received many awards. He is the author of the widely received comic book: "A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge." (SMITH Magazine 2007-2008; Pantheon, 2009) on the subject of Hurricane Katrina. Neufeld is also the author/artist of the following publications: The Influencing Machine (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011); A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories From Southeast Asia & Central Europe) (self-published through a grant from the Xeric Foundation, 2004); The Vagabonds 1-2 (Alternative Comics, 2003-2006); Titans of Finance #1 with writer R. Walker (Alternative Comics, 2001); Keyhole with cartoonist Dean Haspiel (issues #1-4 Millennium/Modern, 1996; issues #5-6 Top Shelf Productions, 1997).