Semiotics of the Kitchen: by Martha Rosler

Dear Friend,

This post will continue from our post on Saturday about Elles: SAM. If you have not yet read that post, go read it. It might help this one make more sense.

Semiotics of the Kitchen: by Martha Rosler

This piece was presented on an old TV in a corner of one of the museum rooms. Click on the link to watch the video. Martha Rosler created this video as a nod to feminism In the video, she puts on a "cooking show", as were popular in 1975 when the video was created. One of the assumptions made about women in this decade was that a women's place was in the kitchen. Even in the 21st century, this is still a mindset that some people have. Mrs. Rosler created the first ever feminism parody. Beginning at A and continuing through Z, she puts on a fake cooking show. A= apron, B=beater, etc. She is "teaching" the audience how to cook, similar to cooking shows, however she is very angry doing it. She is less than impressed, and goes through the alphabet with no emotion.

We really enjoyed this piece, because it was different than others we have seen. Many fem-artists show the struggles of living in a male dominated society through paintings, or propaganda, but Mrs. Rosler took a new approach. She included comedy with a darker undertone. We watched the entire video with one of our close friends, and the three of us were trying to suppress laughter int he silent museum. It is a comical skit, but the message behind it is strong.

There are also many metaphors behind the video, besides the obvious one of feminism. At the end of the video, she doesn't actually make anything in the kitchen, showing that women in the kitchen don't actually accomplish anything productive. She angrily mixes invisible ingredients, and throws the off of the screen, or "outside of the box of public television". When she reaches U, she begins to just use hand motions until she reaches Z. at the end she shrugs, showing that the video is not meant to be a hugely negative message, but rather one of reality.

"Behind every successful women, is herself."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine