Identity - Feminist History - Martha Rossler

Performance Art

by Lainey

Semiotics of the Kitchen is a performance art piece done by Martha Rosler in 1975.  In the 6 minute film, Rosler  is seen standing behind a kitchen counter, where she then proceeds to name and display various items typically found in the kitchen, in alphabetical order. As she moves through the items, her actions demonstrating the functions of the objects get progressively more violent.

The letter “T” is the last letter to get an object assigned to it. Rosler uses her body to create the shapes of the final six letters of the alphabet. In doing so she is insinuating that her own body is an object in the kitchen.

The kitchen itself is relatively small and well stocked, like that of a kitchen a TV show host would use.

Among Martha’s other work is photography, video, and installation work, often dealing with media and the environment, especially relating to how they affect women.

The first time viewing Semiotics of the Kitchen, the underlying message may not be clear to viewers until the last six letters are acted out. Upon further examination, it's clear that the video performance is social commentary on domesticity and gender norms at the time of second wave feminism. 

I appreciated the cleverness of pairing kitchen lexicon with issues of gender roles and inequality. A lot of my work focuses on gender identity and gender expression, and to see a work of second wave feminist art is significantly different from my own contemporary work.

Questions to the class: How does second wave feminism relate to today's expression of gender identity, especially in regards to art? How can you relate feminist history to the other class subcategories (human form, family values, etc.)?