En særegen form for oppmerksomhet

Sammendrag

In this article I take a closer look at the work of Mette Edvardsen and Morten Traavik. Their respective bodies of work have little in common in artistic terms, yet both have generated public debate. Rather than being based on informed, critical engagement with the work and practice of these artists, the debate has largely questioned the value of what they do and the public funding that supports it. I see this debate as a reminder of how art necessarily acts or works within contexts, and of the need for qualified insights into how it does so. Within the performing arts, scholars have been thinking about concepts of autonomy and heteronomy and how they might contribute to understanding different practices and experiences of contemporary performing art. These ideas inform this article, which examines the work and practice of Edvardsen and Traavik with an emphasis on aesthetic, dramaturgical and contextual perspectives.