I. Situated in context. For an art against the mythology of everyday life ; Lookers, buyers, dealers, and makers: thoughts on audience ; Video: shedding the utopian moment. -- II. Strategies of production. The figure of the artist, the figure of the woman ; Lee Friedlander, an exemplary modern photographer ; Notes on quotes. -- III. Photography as image and trace. In, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography) ; Post-documentary, post-photography? ; Wars and metaphors ; Image simulations, computer manipulations: some considerations. -- IV. Censorship and power. Theses on defunding ; The suppression agenda for art ; Place, position, power, politics.

The first comprehensive collection of writings by Martha Rosler considers the intersection of art and politics, the operation of art systems, feminist art practices, and the media. "Decoys and Disruptions" is the first comprehensive collection of writings by American artist and critic Martha Rosler. Best known for her work in video, photography, performance, and installation, Rosler has also been an original and influential cultural critic and theorist for over twenty-five years. The writings collected here address such key topics as documentary photography, feminist art, power hierarchies, questions of public and private, the politics of early video, government patronage of the arts, censorship, and the future of digitally based photographic media. Taken together, these thirteen essays not only show Rosler's importance as a critic but also offer an essential resource for readers interested in the issues confronting contemporary art, including production and reception, representation and appropriation, ethics and aesthetics, and accuracy and responsibility. Mixing analysis and wit, Rosler challenges many of the fundamental precepts of present-day art practice in investigating the role of the artist as author and citizen. Her influential essay "In, around, and afterthoughts: on documentary photography" almost single-handedly dismantled the myth of liberal documentary photography when it first appeared. Many of the essays in this volume have had a similarly wide-ranging influence; others are published here for the first time. Illustrating the essays are 81 images by Rosler and other artists and photographers.