Martha Rosler Empty Boys from the series House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, in Vietnam c. 1967-72

  • Not on view

Rosler conceived Bringing the War Home during a time of increased intervention in Vietnam by the United States military. 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, Rosler made literal the description of the conflict as the "living-room war," so called in the USA because the news of ongoing carnage in Southeast Asia filtered into tranquil American homes through television reports. By urging viewers to reconsider the "here" and "there" of the world picture, these activist photomontages reveal the extent to which a collective experience of war is shaped by media images.

Gallery label from The Shaping of New Visions: Photography, Film, Photobook, April 16, 2012–April 29, 2013.
Medium
Inkjet print (photomontage), printed 2011
Dimensions
21 5/8 × 19 3/4" (55 × 50.1 cm)
Credit
Committee on Photography and The Modern Women's Fund
Object number
949.2011.x1-x2
Copyright
© c. 1967-72 Martha Rosler
Department
Photography

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