In the Place of the Public / An der Stelle der Öffentlichkeit: Beobachtungen einer Vielfliegerin (English & German edition,1998)
Edited by Rolf Lauter
Text by Anthony Vidler, with contributions by Martha Rosler
Berlin: Edition Hatje Cantz
ISBN: 978-3-89322-880-5
168 pages
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At the centre of the monograph In the Place of the Public on the American photographer and theorist Martha Rosler are photographs taken in airports across the world. These photographs interact with a text by Rosler that explores the psychology of flying, the architectural aesthetics of airport terminals, the role of the flight passenger and the strategies adopted by the airlines. Text and images are a combination of theoretical considerations and personal stock-taking plus cultural, social and political analysis. Two further essays complete the publication: the architectural theorist Anthony Vidler goes in depth into the construction of terminals and airport sites, thus putting the photographs into their proper architectural-historical context. Benjamin Buchloh views this series of pictures by Rosler in relation to her other works and writings, and locates them within contemporary art. This volume is the third part of the Positions in Contemporary Art Series.