On the Cusp of the Eighties

Martha Rosler

born 1943

On the Cusp of the Eighties, circa 1980

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: offset lithograph; flexi discs

Credit line: Museum purchase: National Endowment for the Arts and Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Drohojowski

Accession number: 1989.0005.17

Not on display

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Bold Women

Employing inventive materials, this work by Martha Rosler features a multi-track Eva-tone soundsheet with playable audio housed within an offset lithograph that shows a collage of newspaper articles. The collage reveals headlines related to the recent election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. President in 1980, an event that ushered in cultural and economic shifts in sharp contrast to the freer period of the 1960s and 1970s. Rosler is known for her political and gender-related cultural critiques.

Exhibition Label: “Big Shots: Andy Warhol, Celebrity Culture and the 1980s,” Aug-2009, Susan Earle Using fragments of newspaper clippings and a sound recording, this work addresses the political climate in the United States around the time of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as U.S. president in 1980. Rosler wrote about this: “On the cusp of the ‘80s people are giving up their democratic rights under pressure of economic warfare.” Rosler is a performance and conceptual artist.