How to Read A Piece of Art – Martha Rosler’s “Semiotics of the Kitchen”

Last week, I had an assignment for my Contemporary Art History class. Watch Martha Rosler’s video performance “Semiotics of the Kitchen” and write a short response. Now to be honest, this isn’t something I would normally write about on this blog. It’s incredibly layered and highly conceptual. It’s not the kind of Art that is normally accessible to everyone. But then maybe that’s why I’ve decided to write about it.

Perhaps it’s easiest to start with the title of the video, “Semiotics of the Kitchen”. Semiotics, for those that have never had to sit through a class on Art theory or philosophy, is the study of language. Early semiotics argued that language is made up of units and how we interpret those units depends on their organization and how they relate to a greater whole. So letters in relation to a word, or a word in relation to a sentence or paragraph. If you organize letters in a certain way, they stand for something else. So c-a-t stands for a small fluffy animal with pointy ears that occasionally chases mice. Later arguments in semiotics would state that this is not that simple. Language is constantly changing, constantly up for individual interpretation and even sometimes confusing. I would say both arguments apply to this video.

If you head on over to YouTube, you can type in “Semiotics of the Kitchen” and watch the video pretty quickly. It’s about 6 minutes long, so it’s not overwhelming. As you watch, you’ll see a woman (that would be Martha Rosler, folks) going through an alphabetical list of kitchen implements, demonstrating their uses along the way. This may initially seem very simple. Basic implements as they tie in to a whole, the kitchen, using letters as they tie in to their whole, the alphabet. But as you watch, you quickly determine that it is not so easy as all that.

Rosler doesn’t just demonstrate these utensils, she does it with aggressive, even violent, motions. Stabbing, pounding, thrusting and flinging feature heavily here. So what is it Rosler is actually saying? It never gets fully explained in the video, but by combining our knowledge of Rosler as a feminist with her use of the kitchen and the attitude she uses to display each item, we start to get the picture. Perhaps it’s about the societal control of men during that time. Perhaps it’s about domestic violence. Perhaps she’s angry about the idea of women being relegated to specific roles in the home. I would say none of these are wrong.

Often we are able to determine the meaning behind an Artwork through these contextual clues, and Rosler does a good job of conveying a specific mood in this video. Some may not be so simple to read, but starting with the basics here, you can apply the interpretation of context clues to other pieces of Art just by looking at time period and title.

Exhibit For the Everyman: David Bowie Is…

It seems to me that it can be difficult to get into Art if it’s not something a person is already passionate about. They can be deterred by a number of things, like a fear of something being over their head. Museums and galleries don’t always help with that either. Exhibition themes can range anywhere from overly specific to obscure or high-minded and snobbish. My advice would be to keep an eye out for something more accessible that may tie to things outside the Art world that you’re already interested in.

And THAT leads me to the exhibit I saw this last weekend in Chicago – David Bowie Is.

Most people in the Western world have heard of David Bowie. As a musician, actor and pop culture icon, his work has touched multiple generations. Even now, just a few years shy of 70, he’s still releasing ground-breaking albums such as The Next Day, which came out last year. Because of the prolific nature of his career, this exhibit is a perfect way to ease into the artsy fartsy. Not only do you get to see a great show, you have access to other small parts of a museum’s collection. In this case, the show is at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. While the MCA is small, they have a great collection of Alexander Calder mobiles (Grand Rapids folks should appreciate that) and a number of other pieces on display that have a lot of visual interest and may broaden the horizons of even the most picky audiences.

As for the exhibit itself, this show is even more expansive than what I expected. Moving in a generally chronological order, the first few galleries are filled with family photos, personal drawings and Bowie’s earliest forays into music. The audio guide is controlled room to room by GPS so music and interviews are coordinated and personalized to what each viewer is looking at. Moving further into the exhibit, promotional photos and album covers take the place of childhood memorabilia. In addition, there is tons of lyrical documentation, interviews and music videos, and of course countless examples of stage design and costuming. Towards the end of the exhibit there are even sections dedicated to Bowie’s stage and film performances, including film clips and stills, script pages, props and posters. Peppered throughout the show are examples of Bowie’s own personal drawings and artwork. There really isn’t anything lacking here. Simply put, David Bowie Is… phenomenal.

(Featured image – Photo collage of manipulated film stills from The Man Who Fell to Earth by David Bowie. David Bowie Is runs through January 4, 2015 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.)

Pause

This pause in blog posting is brought to you by the crazy research project I managed to subject myself to. Sorry guys. After Wednesday I’ll have less stress and more time to think.

For the time being, enjoy this photo of a sculpture by contemporary Japanese artist Mihoko Ogaki. It’s cool.