The artwork titled “Beauty Rest (from the series *House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home*)” is a collage created by the artist Martha Rosler circa 1967-1972. The artwork belongs to the Feminist Art movement and falls within the photo genre.
In this collage, a juxtaposition of domestic tranquility and the harsh realities of war is depicted. The scene is set in an intimate bedroom, with a family positioned comfortably on a lavish bed. The room’s deteriorated, war-stricken walls starkly contrast the pristine bed adorned with floral patterns, emphasizing a dissonance between the serene domestic space and the chaotic external environment. The man, woman, and child within this domestic scene appear relaxed and engaged in their activities, oblivious to the devastation around them. This deliberate contrast imprints a powerful message about the relative isolation of domestic life amid the turmoil of broader sociopolitical events, characteristic of Rosler’s work in addressing the impacts of war on everyday life.
