Questioning, Impressions and Influences

Dear Liz,

How are you? Hope you’re well.

In your book, you mention George Brecht’s “Three Chairs Event,” and I thought I would share with you another piece that is similar to "Three Chairs Event."

Just recently I learned about a piece by Martha Rosler called “The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems” (1974-1975). It is an intricate piece that consisted of 21 black and white images taken in The Bowery in New York. Now, I’ve never been to New York, but by the looks of it, The Bowery is a pretty run down neighborhood--at least it was in 1975. The images feature storefronts, many of which have graffiti, or peeling paint. All of the images feature empty bottles of liquor lying on the street in front of the stores.

Next to every photograph is a box (the same size as the photo) that contains words that are commonly associated with someone who is drunk. Words such as “unconscious,” “polluted,” “down with the fish,” “boozehound,” and “snozzled,” are printed in a black, typewriter-like font on a white page next to the image. There are, on average, 8 words or phrases per image.

By putting these “two descriptive systems” together, Rosler proves their inadequacy because neither the images nor the text describe what is really being presented to the viewer: the homeless people who live on the street. Because the work does not take on a documentary, or a journalistic approach, or a classical fine art photography approach, we can interpret it with the model you use to interpret the “Three Chair Event.” (Val: can you quote Foucault here...?)

Brecht used three chairs--the white art-exhibited chair, the black bathroom chair, and the yellow street chair--to see what viewers would consider art. Martha Rosler raises a similar question.

More about... 

re-state Kotz's arguement about Brecht in 2 sentences or more.

3's... (how are 3 chairs like the 2 inadequate systems?)

Rosler’s lack of a subject in her work parallels Brecht in that it raises the question of what is a documentary, what is journalism, is this art?

(more details about the photos and the texts Rosler uses)

I think that these two artworks raises a serious question of what should be considered art and it is something that should be discussed further. I am interested in your take on the subject. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Valerie Chin