Myth Today: Edited for Television
1985

Billboard, Minneapolis
Part of the Artside Out project
Commissioned by Film in the Cities, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Myth Today was made for Artside Out, a project that placed painted billboards by artists in sites in downtown Minneapolis. Rosler's original design was censored: the commissioning fiscal sponsor refused to install it. She was invited to submit another plan, which was accepted. Its title is from Mythologies, an essay by the cultural theorist Roland Barthes: “MYTH TODAY: What is a myth, today? I shall give at the outset a first, very simple answer, which is perfectly consistent with etymology: myth is a type of speech.” The billboard, which presents images of television screens, was installed across the street from a local television station bearing a billboard of its smiling news anchors on the roof.