Martha Rosler Response

"Imperialism breeds an imperialist sensibility in all phases of cultural life."

Interesting and relative link about Martha Rosler... http://www.vdb.org/smackn.acgi$artistdetail?ROSLERM

In this writing Rosler is continuously comparing the beginning of Documentary to today's documentary. You get the sense she thinks today’s Documentary is not as honest compared to historical Documentary. She makes the point that in today’s culture the photographer is more selfish. He wants to document the poor, unfortunate, people of the world just so he can understand life better. It is no longer a mission to create change.

I do not know if I agree with this notion. I understand that, especially in America, people 'work for a living' but feel there must be sincere documentaries out there. Maybe not all photographers, but some must be committed to their work with pure intent to help make a difference.

I enjoyed her point about her work- she explained it was not "reality newly viewed... there is nothing new attempted in a photographic style that was constructed in the 1930's..." This may discredit many modern documentarians but it also may be true. Her approach is interesting because she criticizes her art form but also says it has the potential to be extremely important.