Den relationella estetiken till Sverige. Hur begreppet relationell estetik tas emot i en svensk konstkontext.

Abstract

The thesis examines how and when the concept of relational aesthetics, coined by curator Nicolas Bourriuad, was introduced and established in Sweden in the 1990s. By researching art magazines and daily newspapers, I look at how the concept became effective in a Swedish art context. An analyzis of the concept is made through discourse analysis, mainly from Ernesto Laclau & Chantal Mouffes theory and Norman Faircloughs Critical Discourse Analysis. To understand the social aspect of the events I also use Bruno Latours Actor Network Theory (ANT). Relational aesthetics is understood as a discourse within the discursive field of contemporary art, where the concept of ’reality’, central in both relational aesthetics and the Swedish and international art debate at the time, functions as nodal point.