Steve Edwards Examines Martha Rosler's The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems

Steve Edwards has published the first sustained critical examination of Martha Rosler's The Bowery in two inadequate descriptive systems (1974-75), a work that bridged conceptual art and political documentary. The piece consists of twenty-one black-and-white photographs, twenty-four text panels, and three blank panels, applying photo-text experiments to the social reality of New York's Lower East Side. Edwards' illustrated book contextualizes the work within the San Diego Group, critiques documentary conventions, studies its relation to Jean-Luc Godard and political modernism, and speculates on its place in the pastoral tradition. The publication is available via MIT Press and Google Books.