Martha Rosler: Anti Vietnam War
Martha Rosler: Anti Vietnam War
The Vietnam war began in 1967 and ended in 1975, by 1967 over 500,000 American troops were killed leading to some concerns to why troops were being sent out by the US government. Troops psychological and physical health was concerning as increased in “drug use, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mutinies and attacks by soldiers against officers and noncommissioned officers” became apparent.
This concern for their troops, led to people and artists alike to speak out about the horror that the war was causing. For one artist, Martha Rosler, she used her strong political view to create photomontages that captured the political climate of America in that time. Rosler connects home life in America with the war zone. The collection of images were created as a series called Bringing the War Home, “Splicing together pictures of Vietnamese citizens maimed in the war, published in Life magazine, with images of the homes of affluent Americans culled from the pages of House Beautiful”. This “living room war” portrayed how US civilians heard news and stories about the Vietnamese War whilst sat in their house in front of the TV. Therefore these activist photomontages help people explore the reality of war shaped and twisted by American Media.
Balloons is an example from Rosler’s series where a Vietnamese Mother and Child are seen on the stairs of a modern, stylish American home. This juxtaposition of scenarios placed into one image is hard hitting of the reality of the Vietnam War, and definitely creates art activism in getting viewers to think deeply about War and its purpose.
http://www.martharosler.net/about/index.html
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/the-living-room-war-a-conversation-with-artist-martha-rosler/
