This research project adresses the question how local and traditional European forms of parrhesiastic theater—by which I mean events, actions, and performances staged by characters who courageously... Show moreThis research project adresses the question how local and traditional European forms of parrhesiastic theater—by which I mean events, actions, and performances staged by characters who courageously speak their minds through scenes of excess and laughter, that take place in public view and incite the spectator’s agency to speak their own minds—possibly relate to and/or provide new insights into critical artistic practices today. In this context, the project also examines the place and role of caricature today.I approach the issue as an artist-researcher concerned with socially engaged artistic practices. The experience of the playful, humorous, and sharply critical attitude of Gezi Park protesters speaking their minds in Istanbul in 2013 led me to critically reconsider my own courage in positioning myself within contemporary artistic production. Throughout the dissertation I work along a Moebius strip schema, which continually shifts from me as individual artist to dialogic collaborations to writing about the process. The research subject is investigated through a circulation process within which concepts such as communication, dialogue, and listening are continuously performed and put to the test. The dissertation aspires to provide new insights into how tensions between the roles of individual and group, “I” and “we,” may open up a parrhesiastic space for critical artistic practices. Show less
Installation art is one of the most common forms of contemporary art. Installations constitute themselves both in space and time. They are made of multiple media and materials. Often they are... Show moreInstallation art is one of the most common forms of contemporary art. Installations constitute themselves both in space and time. They are made of multiple media and materials. Often they are compared to stage sets, which the viewer can enter physically. Well-known installations are the site-specific works created by Carsten Höller, Doris Salcedo and Olafur Eliasson for the Turbine Hall of London’s Tate Modern. Installation art is particularly known for the kind of spectatorship that it has brought about. Installations are said to turn passive viewers into active participants. This dissertation aims to analyze this spectatorship: How do we experience works of installation art, what is so particular about this spectatorship, and how does it reflect on the ‘experience society’ we are supposed to be living in? The aim of my research is to contribute to the theoretical reflection on spectatorship. I contend that installation art transforms the viewer into a ‘performing observer’. In experiencing an installation viewers revert to their own memories, associations, wishes and dreams. Inadvertently they are writing themselves into the ‘play’ that is suggested by the scenario in which they find themselves. Performing an installation means entering into a playful yet reflective interaction with one’s surroundings. Show less
