Ulrike Rosenbach

A German video artist, Ulrike Rosenbach’s work is mainly focused on her criticism of the traditional representation of femininity and, from the standpoint of feminism, on opening up the range of women’s identities. Trained as a sculptor, she has specialised in video art and she also trains artists and has taught feminist art in California, Cologne, and Saarbruken.

In her works, Ulrike Rosenbach plays with well-known representations of the female figure throughout the history of art. Hence, in Hauben für eine verheiratete Frau (Bonnets for a Married Woman, 1970), she goes back to the Middle Ages when referring to an iconographic tradition in which women are presented as wives.

In Art is a Criminal Action (1969-1972) Rosenbach moves into action to become the female counterpart in Andy Warhol’s silkscreen paintings based on a photograph of Elvis Presley. With herself as a double of, and formally equivalent to the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, she declares she is ready and able to challenge the role of men in art.