| 1. |
- Arnerud Mejhammar, Kristina, 1966-
(författare)
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Självsyn och världsbild i tecknade serier : Visuella livsberättelser av Cecilia Torudd, Ulf Lundkvist, Gunna Grähs och Joakim Pirinen
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis researches the ways that comics artists represent themselves in their work and use their own personal life experience to create visual life narratives. The main purpose is to investigate concepts of both self-image and world-view in comics by Cecilia Torudd, Ulf Lundkvist, Gunna Grähs and Joakim Pirinen, in order to achieve a more nuanced understan- ding of life narratives in a broader sense. The study also aims at giving an account of the development of alternative comics in Sweden during the period 1965-2015, including the rise of the autobiographical comics genre at the turn of the millennium. In individual case studies, I present the life and work of these four Swedish artists, who all emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, at a time when so-called adult comics (vuxenserier) became promi- nent in Sweden. I analyse and interpret a number of life narratives by their hand, applying theories on art and visual communication, comics and life narratives. These analyses reveal common and individual themes as well as visual and narrative strategies. Particular atten- tion is paid to the contribution of the image in the creation of story worlds where personal style and the skill of drawing are highlighted as means to create a sense of credibility. By putting their work in a historical, cultural and social context, and through an interdisciplinary approach, the study results in a deeper knowledge of these comics as a medium for self-ex- pression. The study shows that life narratives are indeed already prominent in the Swedish comics of the 1980s. By seeing self-image as a concept of oneself in interaction with others, and world-view as a subjective perception of the outside world that is conveyed through the comics medium, this thesis gives a broader perspective on the ways that the self and the world take shape in the comics medium. Cartoonists who portray themselves and use their own experiences to tell stories convey new world-views through their visual life narratives.
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| 2. |
- Hinners, Linda, 1971-
(författare)
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De fransöske handtwerkarne vid Stockholms slott 1693–1713 : Yrkesroller, organisation, arbetsprocesser
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis deals with French sculptors and painters active around 1700 at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. They were summoned from Paris by the architect Nicodemus Tessin the younger (1654–1728). This study analyses the Frenchmen’s professional roles, how Tessin organised their work and the working methods applied in the decoration of the Gallery of Charles XI and the adjoining parade rooms. It also involves questions concerning the artist’s roles and the status of artistic professions at the early modern period.The artisans were a group of some fifteen sculptors, painters, founders and a goldsmith. Several of them were accompanied by family members, some of whom were active in the workshop. In France these sculptors and painters had worked in the Bâtiments du Roi and particularly at the Gobelins. Although they were not part of the artistic elite at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture they had vital knowledge in classical pattern/design, le bon goût and drawing. The artisans were also members of the guild system and were thus permitted to accept private commissions.My aim has been to clarify the artisans’ background in Paris and the recruitment undertaken by the diplomat Daniel Cronström (1655–1719). With regard to their activities in Sweden, it has been important to clarify their conditions in the building organisation at the Royal Palace, including social contexts such as their family situation and the possibility to practise their Catholic faith. Equally important is the professional relationship between the Frenchmen and Tessin, who was appointed Superintendent in 1697. Through detailed archival studies, the working practices and the creative process are analysed, especially the collaboration between Tessin and the painter Jacques Foucquet and the sculptors René Chauveau (1663–1722) and Jacques Foucquet (1639–1731).
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| 3. |
- Qvarnström, Ludwig, 1975-
(författare)
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Vigselrummet i Stockholms rådhus och det tidiga 1900-talets monumentalmåleri : Historia, reception, historiografi
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The competitions for the commission to decorate the Marriage Chamber in Stockholm City Law Courts (1912–1915) have become one of the most important events in the history of mural painting in Sweden. One of the proposals, by artist Isaac Grünewald, has become a major icon of early modernistic art in Sweden. Among the participants in the competition we find some of the most important introducers of fauvism (Grünewald) and cubism (Georg Pauli) into Swedish art. None of the participating artists received the commission, however. Instead, the architect Carl Westman executed a sketch that was painted by Filip Månsson’s decorative firm in the autumn of 1915. A fundamental question in the study is why the proposal by Grünewald, rather than the winning proposal by Pauli or the actual painting, has become an icon in Swedish art history. By posing this question, the study allows for a broad analysis of the history of early 20th century public art in Sweden and also for a critique of the established art historical writing. At the same time, the dissertation is also a detailed study of networks, individual artists’ “repositionings” on the Swedish art scene, art critical discussions and institutional relations during the period 1912–1915. It is also a detailed study of the construction of the narrative concerning this situation. The purpose of the dissertation is to describe the diversity of artistic expressions in the early 20th century public art in Sweden, and to explain the formation and institutionalisation of the story of the Marriage Chamber. This dual purpose is indicated in the dissertation by its two separate parts, “Situation” and “Narration”. In part I, “Situation”, the complexity of the historical situation connected to the decoration of the Marriage Chamber is analyzed and described. The purpose is to demonstrate the complexity of the situation from which the established story has been constructed. In part II, “Narration”, the formation and institutionalisation of the narrative concerning the Marriage Chamber are analyzed. The purpose is to point at key texts, persons, institutions and exhibitions and at the primary material, which has contributed, to the narrative of the Marriage Chamber. The narrative structure is analyzed with the purpose of constructing underlying explanatory models. The dissertation shows that the established historiography of mural painting in Sweden is based on a selection with modernism as the aesthetic norm. Works of art made by artists who had direct contact with and were inspired by the Parisian avant-garde have been put forward as milestones in the Swedish art history. This simplistic and biased narration has not only resulted in an specific selection, where never actualized proposals for wall paintings have filled the gaps in the narration, but also ignored certain aspects of the proposals for the decoration of the Marriage Chamber. In the thesis, an interpretation of Grünewald’s proposal as both connecting to French fauvism and to regional decoration tradition is introduced as an example of the need for a more diversified art historical writing on early 20th century mural painting in Sweden.
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| 4. |
- Solheim, Randi C., 1953-
(författare)
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Kunst og nasjon : Brytninger i kunstsynet i Norge 1750–1905
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis examines the art theoretical discourse, in Norway, from the mid eighteenth century up to 1905. The objective of the study has been to identify and analyse the most important art theoretical positions in treatises and other programmatic texts and works of art. The source material has been analysed through close reading of the texts, and through detailed examination of the chosen artworks. The focus is on discourse that is understood, in the traditional sense, as an exchange of ideas or communication between individuals where there exists a difference of opinion. This model is inspired by Jürgen Habermas’ theory of communicative action and represents a kind of analytical pluralism that differs from the discourse model associated with Michel Foucault.The period examined has been chosen both from a political and from a discursive point of view. Norway in the examined period transformed from a pre-modern society into a modern nation state. It was also in this period art became a national concern. Prior to 1814, Norway was part of a larger Danish-Norwegian conglomerate state with the capital Copenhagen. From 1814 up to 1905 Norway had a semi-autonomous status with its own capital, Christiania, within a personal union under a common monarch with Sweden.The hypothesis of the thesis is that the art theoretical conflicts are expressions of hegemonic rivalries between elites with differing national strategies. This perspective, which implies a struggle over ideas and positions, transgresses Habermas’ consensus model. The power perspective takes into consideration that some positions might be marginalised or supressed in art historical writing. By acknowledging these positions, the thesis also has a critical art historiographic ambition.The analysis is organised in four chapters that correspond to distinct socio-cultural periods. The first chapter, Kierlighed til Fædrenelandet, deals with the period from the mid-eighteenth century up to 1814. The focal point of this period is on the art theoretical discourse connected to the development of the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen. In the second chapter, Patriotismens borgerkrig, the prime focus is on the effort of building art institutions in the new Norwegian capital Christiania, and the controversies regarding the nation’ s artistic culture. The third chapter, Den store harmonien, highlights the identity politics after 1850 and the resulting disputes over the national art. The fourth chapter, Harmoni gjennom differensiering, targets the diversity of art theoretical standpoints competing for hegemony from the mid-1870s to 1905. The results of the study show that the dividing line in the art theoretical conflicts in Norway, during the period of examination, primarily goes between a humanistic orientated secular elite and an ecclesiastically trained elite. The issues of dispute can be grouped around two different themes. These themes often appear as dichotomies, where two fundamental differences of opinion emerge. The first is the conflict between a utilitarian view on art versus the view of art as luxury. The second dichotomy can be traced to the discord between an individualising and an archaic stylistic idiom. These divides are in turn indicative of the conflict between two divergent educational ideals. One reflecting humanist scientific ideals, the other based on scholastic theological values.
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| 5. |
- Åkestam, Mia, 1954-
(författare)
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Bebådelsebilder : Om bildbruk under medeltiden
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis investigates the Annunciation motif and the use of images in a medieval socio-cultural context. There are almost 400 medieval images of the Annunciation from the period 1150–1550 in Sweden today. It is found in murals, baptismal fonts, paintings, wooden sculpture, stone reliefs, liturgical vessels, textile works and altarpieces. The aim of the thesis is to present this rich and varied material, and also to relate the images to the milieus where they were used and viewed as objects of cult, and to elucidate the historical situation in which they were used for communicative purposes. It is argued that an “image-culture” perspective and a long-term investigation can reveal other aspects than a specific study, and that it is fruitful to equally emphasize the rhetoric of the image, the beholders part and the historical context. Hence the picture analysis is based on semiotics and rhetoric analysis of pictures and reception theory. With this point of departure the thesis addresses iconographic problems and shows that text as a source and explanation of historical image can be insufficient. The study shows that the figures’ gestures and body language, their contenace, is crucial for our understanding, and remains the most important mark of identification. The motif can be identified even with an angel without wings. The meaning of this universal picture could then be enlarged with specific attributes and symbols with a purpose to emphasize specific ideas. In context this elucidates bishopric, monastic as well as worldly use of imagery. The image context includes motifs from classical antiquity, references to the pious Christian worshiper, as well as symbolic staging of the Gospels and Christian faith. More expected is the biblical history. The motif can also be displayed alone, and thus it can be regarded as a sign. An important outcome is that the Annunciation not is used in legendary suites or in narratives of the Virgin Mary. Hence, the relationship between image and text is not uncomplicated. The thesis shows that people in the Middle Ages were fully aware of the use of pictures and skilfully used the rhetoric of the image.
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| 6. |
- Öhrner, Annika, 1962-
(författare)
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Barbro Östlihn och New York : Konstens rum och möjligheter
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The study analyses the American neo-avantgarde as well as the narratives of Swedish post World War II art history, through a specific subject position. The Swedish painter Barbro Östlihn (1930-1995) lived in New York from 1961, where her work was exhibited and received on a new art scene. Despite the strong focus within Swedish Art History on the 1960’s and the American art scene, Östlihn seems to be marginalized in its narratives. Studies of selected corpora of American art criticism, and of segments in the Swedish art scene in the 1960’s are maintained. Discursive and field-related mechanisms, which help to explain what positions were available, are revealed. Transnational processes of avant-garde culture between Manhattan and Stockholm are discussed, e.g. through an analysis of the American pop art show at Moderna Museet in 1964. This becomes the backdrop for the final chapter’s discussion of the narratives in post World War II Art History in Sweden. In the interpretation of Östlihn’s work-process, her use of photography is understood as a strategy to connect her painterly work with urban space. The painterly and the photographic are merged, as in other artistic practices in a historical moment of crisis in painting. The studio, the site where modes of art production are constructed, is one point of departure in a spatial analysis of the art field. Another is the ongoing urban renewal on Lower Manhattan and its impact on artistic work and on how artists are positioned. Östlihn’s co-operation in the work of her husband Öyvind Fahlström, is understood as a merging of a traditional division of work between genders, and new co-operative modes of art-production. The study is the first academic work on Barbro Östlihn, and covers the time span 1960-1969. Feminist theory, Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory and Michel Foucault's discourse theory is used as its main framework.
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| 7. |
- Inzaina, Anna Brodow, 1965-
(författare)
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Konstnärliga projekt & experiment : Beviljade projektbidrag ur Sveriges bildkonstnärsfond 1976-2007
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is about a state-funded artist subsidy granted to visual artists and intended for costly artwork and projects. The project subsidy with its administrative framework is to be found in the intersection between the artistic and political fields. On the board of Sweden’s Visual Artists’ Fund, which is an independent decision-making organ within the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, there are representatives for the art scene appointed by the government for a limited period.The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between the two fields in the processes which led to the enactment of the subsidy. But also to highlight the changes over time in such relationships on the art scene which concern the relative strengths between positions in the artistic field and the relationship between the state and the artists. Furthermore, the aim is to answer the question of which types of projects have been granted means in the years 1976-2007 and how these relate to the guidelines for the subsidy.Two major changes in the power structures of the artistic field have been identified during the period. These form the basis of the division of the thesis into two parts which mirror each other in three chapters each. The description of two phases in the granting of the subsidies is the main result of the thesis. In the first part the artistic field is influenced by forces from without which affect the relative strengths within the artistic field, while in the second part it regains its autonomy and closes itself off from outside influences.The empirical investigation through cross-sections and sample studies has shown that the project subsidy was widely issued. However, changes on the art scene after the post-modern shift towards a conceptual and process-oriented art came to be of significant importance for the understanding of what a project is. The thesis has shown how the entire basic understanding of the project subsidy has changed and influenced the distribution in spite of the ordinance not having been changed since it was formulated in 1976.
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Åsa Bharathi, 1980-
(författare)
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Colonizing Fever : Race and Media Cultures in Late Nineteenth-Century Sweden
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dissertation focuses on visual representations of the colonial world in late nineteenth-century Sweden. Situated at the intersection between postcolonial studies, visual culture studies and cultural histories of media, the study has a threefold aim. Firstly, it aims to draw attention to the presence of a colonial discourse in empirical material, the majority of which has not received attention before. Secondly, it analyzes these visual representations of the colonial world, in an expanding media culture in late nineteenth century. Thirdly, it explores how a mutual vision of the European colonial project and its civilizing mission was created via visual strategies and descriptions. The material comprises a wide range of media, visual arts, ephemera and illustrated press.“Part One: Race and Scientific Media – The Vanadis Expedition 1883–1885” analyzes the scientific Vanadis expedition of 1883–1885. I show how the expedition established a mutual vision of the European colonial project and its civilizing mission through its ambitions in trade, diplomatic relations and sciences. It was established in numerous media such as the press, travel journals, photography, illustrated press, photo albums, ephemera and visual arts. The ethnographical survey conducted measurements of the Indigenous populations and a racial photo archive was established.“Part Two: Race and Popular Media – Shows, Exhibitions and Attractions” analyzes contemporary entertainments such as the Wild West performances, ethnological exhibitions and wax displays. These acts, I argue, created a mutual vision of the European colonial project and its civilizing mission. For example, in the Wild West performances a narrative of life on the “last frontier” was seen as a fight for life between the White settler and the American Indian. In the ethnological exhibitions a mutual vision of the European colonial project and the civilizing mission was construed in the specific performances of the Indigenous people, which displayed a population on the “lowest ladder of civilization”. The Oriental Maze Salons differed from the above since they aimed to evoke fantasies of the Orient.“Conclusion” discusses the main results of the dissertation and proposes further research. The last part “Coda” reflects on contemporary postcolonial issues as related to nineteenth-century media cultures.
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| 9. |
- Liepe, Lena, 1962-
(författare)
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Den medeltida träskulpturen i Skåne : Produktion och förvärv
- 1995
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Avhandlingen analyserar och beskriver alla bevarade medeltida träskulpturer från skånska kyrkor; i allt 311 skulpturer. Analysens utgångspunkter är det andliga behovet av kultobjekt, ekonomiska möjligheter för förvärv och förekomsten av produktion, antingen i lokala eller regionalt baserade verkstäder eller verkstäder i utlandet.
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| 10. |
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