Artistic Work in the Age of Postfordism

Using the example of a video installation by the artist Mika Rottenberg (*1976), the research project examines how aspects of our contemporary capitalism are reflected in the visual arts. The exemplarily analyzed video work titled "NoNoseKnows" was first shown at the Venice Art Biennale in 2015. The research project examines the semantic-narrative references of this video installation to the current globalizing world of work, which are negotiated by the artist in a critical and at the same time very humorous way. Following specifically postmodern procedures of allegory and in the context of medial self-reflection, the differentiated view of contemporary capitalism in its post-Fordist constitution is elaborated. It becomes clear that today's artistic work is closely related to the ideals of post-Fordism and, in this respect, is also the subject of an examining self-reflection in the video installation. In the examination of surrealism and its reception in contemporary art, its role in the formation of a post-Fordist working world is critically evaluated. The result of the research project is an extensive essay published in the "Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft" (Vol. 46, 2020).