Soziale Reproduktion in der Kunst
Jenni Tischer
Institute of Arts and Society, Art and Knowledge Transfer
2026S, scientific seminar (SEW), 4.0 ECTS, 2.0 semester hours, course number S05670
Scientific bachelor seminar for teacher education
Description
“And here is the revolution: women together with non-gendered service workers. Look around! That´s most of the people in the whole world. Together, if organized, and in coalition, we could re-shape the world.”
Mierle Laderman Ukeles (1969)
“My working will be the work” concludes the first paragraph of the second part of the Manifesto for Maintenance Art 1969! Proposal for an Exhibition “Care” (1969) by American artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles. In it, she proposes an exhibition in which she would carry out all maintenance and care work that arises in her personal life as well as in the museum, single-handedly and on site, visible to exhibition visitors. The Manifesto for Maintenance Art, as well as Laderman Ukeles' entire oeuvre, deals with the little-noticed area of housework, reproductive work, and the undervalued profession of cleaning staff. By shifting housework from the private sphere to the public sphere, Ukeles makes it visible. With the publication of her programmatic Manifesto, the artist declares all forms of care and maintenance work – whether paid or unpaid – to be fundamental to life itself and negotiates this significance specifically in the context of art.
In this seminar, we will discuss selected texts on social reproduction theory (SRT), which considers the maintenance of life and human relationships – regardless of whether they are recognized as (wage) labor or not – as an integral part of capitalism as a mode of production. Accompanying this, we will analyze works of art that critically question the aesthetic and material conditions of their own practices within the art institution in this context.
Examination Modalities
- Attendance (max. 2 absences)
- Active participation in discussions, preparation of all readings and artwork analyses (en/de) (60%)
- Academic seminar paper or documentation of your own artistic work (en/de) (40%)
Comments
!!!TBA!!!
Filmscreening: "Maintenance Artist", Toby Perl Freilich (2025)
https://www.maintenanceartist.com/
Key Words
Soziale Reproduktion, Reproduktive Arbeit, Feminismus, Nightcleaners, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Care, Institutionskritik
Dates
Wed, 04 March 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 (preliminary discussion)
Wed, 11 March 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Close Reading: Social Reproduction Theory"
Wed, 18 March 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Filmscreening: Berwick Street Film Collective, “Nightcleaners”, 1972–75"
Wed, 25 March 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Close-Reading: Siona Wilson, “Nightcleaners, The Ambiguities of Activism and the Limits of Production” "
Wed, 22 April 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Presentation: Mierle Laderman Ukeles"
Wed, 29 April 2026, 14:15–15:45 Meeting Point: Albertina Museum, Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Wien , "Exhibition visit: “Care Matters”, Albertina"
Wed, 13 May 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Presentation: Anni Albers "
Wed, 20 May 2026, 14:15–15:45 Meeting Point: Unteres Belvedere, Rennweg 6, 1030 Wien , "Exhibition visit: “Anni Albers. Constructing Textiles” "
Wed, 27 May 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Presentation"
Wed, 03 June 2026, 14:15–15:45 Meeting Point: Haus der Geschichte Österreich, Neue Burg - Heldenplatz, 1010 Wien , "Exhibition Visit: “Alles Arbeit. Frauen zwischen Erwerbs- und Sorgetätigkeit, Fotoarchiv Blaschka 1950–1966”"
Wed, 10 June 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Presentation"
Wed, 17 June 2026, 14:15–15:45 Seminar Room 30 , "Feedback"
Course Enrolment
From 02 February 2026, 09:00 to 02 March 2026, 09:01
Via online registration
Curriculum Allocation
Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.80
Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: IT: Bachelorseminar Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.85
Art Education: subject kkp (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 067/003.80
Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 067/003.25
Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.80
Art Education: subject tex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 071/003.80
Art Education: subject dae (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 072/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: IT: Bachelorseminar Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.85
Art Education: subject dex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 074/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 074/003.25
Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.80
Transformation Studies. Art x Science (Bachelor): Focus! Transformation Areas: Social Transformation 162/040.20
TransArts - Transdisciplinary Arts (Bachelor): Theoretical foundations: Theoretical foundations 180/003.01
Expanded Museum Studies (Master): Electives: Art & Knowledge Transfer 537/080.26
Stage Design (2. Section): Kunsttheorie und Kulturwissenschaften: Kunst- und Wissenstransfer 542/207.05
Media Arts: Specialisation in Transmedia Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie und Geschichte : Kunst- und Wissenstransfer 566/208.14
Media Arts: Specialisation in Digital Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie, Geschichte: Kunst- und Wissenstransfer 567/208.14
Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 2: Art and Knowledge Transfer 568/006.19
Design: Specialisation in Design and Narrative Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Fundamentals: Humanities 576/203.02
Design: Specialisation in Communication Design (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Humanities 577/203.02
Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Media Theory,Art&Knowledge Transfer,Th. of Architecture,Th. and Hist. of Design 605/202.02
Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Free Electives out of Scientific and Research Practice 605/202.80
Design: Specialisation in Applied Photography and Time-based Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Humanities 626/203.02
Co-registration: possible
Attending individual courses: possible