Semiotics of the Kitchen

Martha Rosler, Semiotics of the Kitchen, 1975, single-channel video, black and white, sound; 06:09 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2008.21.7, © 1975, Martha Rosler. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY

Artwork Details

Title
Semiotics of the Kitchen
Artist
Date
1975
Location
Copyright
© 1975, Martha Rosler. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company
Mediums
Mediums Description
single-channel video, black and white, sound; 06:09 minutes
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Occupation — domestic — cooking
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — kitchen
  • Object — other — cookware
Object Number
2008.21.7
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2008.21.7

Artwork Description

In unsmiling deadpan, Martha Rosler parodies the role of the perfect TV housewife and cook. Running through an alphabet of kitchen utensils, she demonstrates each for the camera. Her gestures of hacking and stabbing are at times unnerving--thinly veiled expressions of frustration and rage. Rosler has said of this performance, "As the woman speaks, she names her own oppression."

A conceptual artist who has worked in many different mediums, including video, photography, and performance, Rosler made numerous pieces in the 1970s examining media representations of women's roles.

Works by this artist (33 items)

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William H. Jackson, Interior of a Hopi Dwelling, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1985.66.806
Interior of a Hopi Dwelling
Artist
Not on view
William H. Jackson, Yellowstone National Park, 1873-1879, photographs, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Library of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 1989.66.1.1-85
Yellowstone National Park
Artist
Date1873-1879
photographs
Not on view
Image Not Available
Summit of Pike’s Peak
Artist
Dateca.1880
albumen print, mounted on cardboard
Not on view
William H. Jackson, Grand Cañon of the Colorado, ca. 1880, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.85
Grand Cañon of the Colorado
Artist
Dateca. 1880
albumen silver print
Not on view

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Folly or Saintliness
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Date1895
heliotype on paper
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Unidentified (American?), (Untitled--Two Girls), ca. 1875, mechanical reproduction on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1970.355.807
(Untitled – Two Girls)
Artist
Unidentified (American?)
Dateca. 1875
mechanical reproduction on paper
Not on view
Henry Wolf, Robert William Vonnoh, Phoebe, 1892, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.74
Phoebe
Artist
Date1892
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view
Frank Hector Tompkins, Henry Wolf, Mother and Sleeping Child, 1894, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.94
Mother and Sleeping Child
Artist
Date1894
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view