Nina Sääskilahti | University of Jyväskylä (original) (raw)
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Papers by Nina Sääskilahti
Elore, Dec 18, 2019
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
Media & viestintä
Käsittelemme artikkelissa suomalaisten nykytaiteilijoiden reaktioita vuoden 2015 ”pakolaiskriisii... more Käsittelemme artikkelissa suomalaisten nykytaiteilijoiden reaktioita vuoden 2015 ”pakolaiskriisiin” taiteellisen aktivismin näkökulmasta. Analysoimme kolmea teosta, Lauri Ahtisen Elias-sarjakuvaromaania (2018), Minna Rainion ja Mark Robertsin lyhytelokuvaa They Came in Crowded Boats and Trains (2017) ja Riiko Sakkisen näyttelyä Rajat kiinni (2017). Tulkitsemme teoksia poeettisena aktivismina, jolla taiteilijat pyrkivät vaikuttamaan yleisöön taiteen omien esteettisin keinoin. Tarkastelemme teoksia sen keskustelun viitekehyksessä, jota on käyty taiteen ja median ristiriitaisesta roolista ”pakolaiskriisin” käsittelyssä, sekä osana keskustelua taiteellisesta aktivismista. Erittelemme taiteilijoiden käyttämän poeettisen aktivismin ominaispiirteitä ja osoitamme, että taiteella on erityinen rooli pakolaistilanteen kommentoinnissa. Teoksissa kommentoidaan konkreettisia ja symbolisia rajoja monin tavoin. Keskeisenä tulkinnallisena käsitteenä käytämme rajatyötä. Teoksille yhteisinä taiteellis...
Acta Borealia
ABSTRACT The early fiction of a novelist and journalist born in the north of Finland, Reino Rinne... more ABSTRACT The early fiction of a novelist and journalist born in the north of Finland, Reino Rinne (1913–2002), is illustrative of the post-war interest in a redefinition of cultural belonging. The aim of this article is to offer a reading of Rinne’s works that throws light on the way they exemplify a post-war articulation of affective localism. What is especially characteristic of the affective localism produced in Rinne’s early fiction is the deployment of certain narrative elements, realism as an aesthetic regime, tropes of spatial belonging and historical myths that are endowed with affective charge. A comparison between Rinne's first novel Tunturit hymyilevät. Kuvaus Lapista 1900-luvun alkuvuosilta ([1945a]. The Fells are Smiling. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava), and his collection of short stories Erämaan omia ihmisiä ([1949]. People of the Wilderness. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava), reveals that there was a change in Rinne’s artistic practice. While Rinne’s first novel revolved around a promise of reciprocity and happiness, the collection of short stories shows the dissolution of the optimism that, according to Berlant [(2011). Cruel Optimism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press], is at the core of all attachments.
Journal of Aesthetics & Culture
The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Fin... more The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Finnish fiction film The Midwife (Kätilö, Antti J. Jokinen, 2015) is aimed at an international audience with a story that takes place in the context of the Lapland War in Finland in 1944. The film tells of a romantic relationship between a local woman and a member of the German army, in a highly affective manner. This article argues that the film downplays elements that might have interested the national, or local, audience, and that it privileges affect over knowledge. To bring out the film's transnational character, the article begins by analysing it in the context of national, or local, and global influences and argues that the film's decontextualised, deterritorialised, and denationalised nature can be a result of its desire to appeal to a wide audience; yet a set of tensions and paradoxes are identified that bring out the complexities of the local-global nexus. The article goes on to ask whether the affectivity emphasised in The Midwife could have been a means to produce a story that communicates across borders. The article also explores whether affectivity can be a way to create a meaningful connection to the past in the current era of post memory (Aleida Assmann). Analysis of the film's aesthetic and narrative devices is combined with cultural analysis of the contemporary memory and media culture and its global flows.
Arts
We analyze three environmentally conscious works that are concerned with the state of Finnish for... more We analyze three environmentally conscious works that are concerned with the state of Finnish forests: the documentary film Metsän tarina/Tale of a Forest (2012), the book with the same name (2013) and the series of short documentaries Tarinoita metsästä/Tales from the Forest (2013). By combining methods from arts research and ecology, we ask how the narratives adapt material from nature photography. The film and book present mythic stories and old Finnish beliefs about forests. They also contain references to cultural memory. Additionally, the biodiversity on display reflects a conventional practice to exhibit large or charismatic species. However, the ecological message remains only implicit, expressed through aesthetic choices rather than information about natural processes. Overall, we suggest that adaptation in these narratives can be understood as an artistic process of recycling and referencing and as a way to reconnect with cultural memory and nature. As such, it can enhance...
The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Fin... more The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Finnish fiction film The Midwife (Kätilö, Antti J. Jokinen, 2015) is aimed at an international audience with a story that takes place in the context of the Lapland War in Finland in 1944.
The film tells of a romantic relationship between a local woman and a member of the German army, in a highly affective manner. This article argues that the film downplays elements that might have interested the national, or local, audience, and that it privileges affect over knowledge. To bring out the film’s transnational character, the article begins by analysing it in the context of national, or local, and global influences and argues that the film’s decontextualised, deterritorialised, and denationalised nature can be a result of its desire to appeal
to a wide audience; yet a set of tensions and paradoxes are identified that bring out the complexities of the local–global nexus. The article goes on to ask whether the affectivity emphasised in The Midwife could have been a means to produce a story that communicates across borders. The article also explores whether affectivity can be a way to create a meaningful connection to the past in the current era of post memory (Aleida Assmann). Analysis of the film’s aesthetic and narrative devices is combined with cultural analysis of the contemporary
memory and media culture and its global flows.
Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased sig... more Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased significantly in the 2000s. This article explores the dimensions of belonging as a scholarly concept. The investigation is based on a qualitative content analysis of articles published in academic journals covering a large number of different disciplines. The article poses and answers the following research questions: How is belonging understood and used in contemporary research? What added value does the concept bring to scholarly discussions? In the analysis, five topoi of conceptualizing belonging – spatiality, intersectionality, multi-plicity, materiality, and non-belonging – were identified. After introducing the topoi, the
Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased sig... more Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased significantly in the 2000s. This article explores the dimensions of belonging as a scholarly concept. The investigation is based on a qualitative content analysis of articles published in academic journals covering a large number of different disciplines. The article poses and answers the following research questions: How is belonging understood and used in contemporary research? What added value does the concept bring to scholarly discussions? In the analysis, five topoi of conceptualizing belonging – spatiality, intersectionality, multi-plicity, materiality, and non-belonging – were identified. After introducing the topoi, the
Art and Culture Studies, PhD Jäntti at the Department of Languages, University of Jyväskylä, Finl... more Art and Culture Studies, PhD Jäntti at the Department of Languages, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. They come from the disciplines of art history, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, art education, ethnology, visual culture, and literature, respectively. Together, they form the multidisciplinary research team Arts of Belonging -Materiality and affectivity of Homing. Abstract Studies framing 'belonging' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased significantly in the 2000s. This article explores the dimensions of belonging 1 as a scholarly concept. The investigation is based on a qualitative content analysis of articles published in academic journals covering a large number of different disciplines.
Elore, Dec 18, 2019
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
Media & viestintä
Käsittelemme artikkelissa suomalaisten nykytaiteilijoiden reaktioita vuoden 2015 ”pakolaiskriisii... more Käsittelemme artikkelissa suomalaisten nykytaiteilijoiden reaktioita vuoden 2015 ”pakolaiskriisiin” taiteellisen aktivismin näkökulmasta. Analysoimme kolmea teosta, Lauri Ahtisen Elias-sarjakuvaromaania (2018), Minna Rainion ja Mark Robertsin lyhytelokuvaa They Came in Crowded Boats and Trains (2017) ja Riiko Sakkisen näyttelyä Rajat kiinni (2017). Tulkitsemme teoksia poeettisena aktivismina, jolla taiteilijat pyrkivät vaikuttamaan yleisöön taiteen omien esteettisin keinoin. Tarkastelemme teoksia sen keskustelun viitekehyksessä, jota on käyty taiteen ja median ristiriitaisesta roolista ”pakolaiskriisin” käsittelyssä, sekä osana keskustelua taiteellisesta aktivismista. Erittelemme taiteilijoiden käyttämän poeettisen aktivismin ominaispiirteitä ja osoitamme, että taiteella on erityinen rooli pakolaistilanteen kommentoinnissa. Teoksissa kommentoidaan konkreettisia ja symbolisia rajoja monin tavoin. Keskeisenä tulkinnallisena käsitteenä käytämme rajatyötä. Teoksille yhteisinä taiteellis...
Acta Borealia
ABSTRACT The early fiction of a novelist and journalist born in the north of Finland, Reino Rinne... more ABSTRACT The early fiction of a novelist and journalist born in the north of Finland, Reino Rinne (1913–2002), is illustrative of the post-war interest in a redefinition of cultural belonging. The aim of this article is to offer a reading of Rinne’s works that throws light on the way they exemplify a post-war articulation of affective localism. What is especially characteristic of the affective localism produced in Rinne’s early fiction is the deployment of certain narrative elements, realism as an aesthetic regime, tropes of spatial belonging and historical myths that are endowed with affective charge. A comparison between Rinne's first novel Tunturit hymyilevät. Kuvaus Lapista 1900-luvun alkuvuosilta ([1945a]. The Fells are Smiling. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava), and his collection of short stories Erämaan omia ihmisiä ([1949]. People of the Wilderness. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava), reveals that there was a change in Rinne’s artistic practice. While Rinne’s first novel revolved around a promise of reciprocity and happiness, the collection of short stories shows the dissolution of the optimism that, according to Berlant [(2011). Cruel Optimism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press], is at the core of all attachments.
Journal of Aesthetics & Culture
The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Fin... more The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Finnish fiction film The Midwife (Kätilö, Antti J. Jokinen, 2015) is aimed at an international audience with a story that takes place in the context of the Lapland War in Finland in 1944. The film tells of a romantic relationship between a local woman and a member of the German army, in a highly affective manner. This article argues that the film downplays elements that might have interested the national, or local, audience, and that it privileges affect over knowledge. To bring out the film's transnational character, the article begins by analysing it in the context of national, or local, and global influences and argues that the film's decontextualised, deterritorialised, and denationalised nature can be a result of its desire to appeal to a wide audience; yet a set of tensions and paradoxes are identified that bring out the complexities of the local-global nexus. The article goes on to ask whether the affectivity emphasised in The Midwife could have been a means to produce a story that communicates across borders. The article also explores whether affectivity can be a way to create a meaningful connection to the past in the current era of post memory (Aleida Assmann). Analysis of the film's aesthetic and narrative devices is combined with cultural analysis of the contemporary memory and media culture and its global flows.
Arts
We analyze three environmentally conscious works that are concerned with the state of Finnish for... more We analyze three environmentally conscious works that are concerned with the state of Finnish forests: the documentary film Metsän tarina/Tale of a Forest (2012), the book with the same name (2013) and the series of short documentaries Tarinoita metsästä/Tales from the Forest (2013). By combining methods from arts research and ecology, we ask how the narratives adapt material from nature photography. The film and book present mythic stories and old Finnish beliefs about forests. They also contain references to cultural memory. Additionally, the biodiversity on display reflects a conventional practice to exhibit large or charismatic species. However, the ecological message remains only implicit, expressed through aesthetic choices rather than information about natural processes. Overall, we suggest that adaptation in these narratives can be understood as an artistic process of recycling and referencing and as a way to reconnect with cultural memory and nature. As such, it can enhance...
The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Fin... more The Second World War has proved a rich source of inspiration for fiction films worldwide. The Finnish fiction film The Midwife (Kätilö, Antti J. Jokinen, 2015) is aimed at an international audience with a story that takes place in the context of the Lapland War in Finland in 1944.
The film tells of a romantic relationship between a local woman and a member of the German army, in a highly affective manner. This article argues that the film downplays elements that might have interested the national, or local, audience, and that it privileges affect over knowledge. To bring out the film’s transnational character, the article begins by analysing it in the context of national, or local, and global influences and argues that the film’s decontextualised, deterritorialised, and denationalised nature can be a result of its desire to appeal
to a wide audience; yet a set of tensions and paradoxes are identified that bring out the complexities of the local–global nexus. The article goes on to ask whether the affectivity emphasised in The Midwife could have been a means to produce a story that communicates across borders. The article also explores whether affectivity can be a way to create a meaningful connection to the past in the current era of post memory (Aleida Assmann). Analysis of the film’s aesthetic and narrative devices is combined with cultural analysis of the contemporary
memory and media culture and its global flows.
Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased sig... more Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased significantly in the 2000s. This article explores the dimensions of belonging as a scholarly concept. The investigation is based on a qualitative content analysis of articles published in academic journals covering a large number of different disciplines. The article poses and answers the following research questions: How is belonging understood and used in contemporary research? What added value does the concept bring to scholarly discussions? In the analysis, five topoi of conceptualizing belonging – spatiality, intersectionality, multi-plicity, materiality, and non-belonging – were identified. After introducing the topoi, the
Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased sig... more Studies framing ''belonging'' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased significantly in the 2000s. This article explores the dimensions of belonging as a scholarly concept. The investigation is based on a qualitative content analysis of articles published in academic journals covering a large number of different disciplines. The article poses and answers the following research questions: How is belonging understood and used in contemporary research? What added value does the concept bring to scholarly discussions? In the analysis, five topoi of conceptualizing belonging – spatiality, intersectionality, multi-plicity, materiality, and non-belonging – were identified. After introducing the topoi, the
Art and Culture Studies, PhD Jäntti at the Department of Languages, University of Jyväskylä, Finl... more Art and Culture Studies, PhD Jäntti at the Department of Languages, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. They come from the disciplines of art history, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, art education, ethnology, visual culture, and literature, respectively. Together, they form the multidisciplinary research team Arts of Belonging -Materiality and affectivity of Homing. Abstract Studies framing 'belonging' as a key focus and a central concept of research have increased significantly in the 2000s. This article explores the dimensions of belonging 1 as a scholarly concept. The investigation is based on a qualitative content analysis of articles published in academic journals covering a large number of different disciplines.