No. 21 (2007): Centre–Periphery—The Avant-Garde and the Other
Edited by Per Bäckström, Helène Whittaker von Hofsten, Tanja Kudrjavtseva, and Michael Schmidt. Cover painting by Gösta Adrian-Nilsson [GAN].
Nordlit 21 has as its theme ‘Centre–Periphery—The Avant-Garde and the Other’ and is the outcome of a conference of the same name that took place in Tromsø on November 23–24, 2006. The peripheral location of this conference was evident to the many participants in the midwinter darkness of the Arctic. The theme of ‘the Other’ is also deeply embedded in Tromsø, symbolized by prolific Sami Studies at the university, but it was and is thematized as well by a painting by one of the foremost Swedish avant-gardists, Gösta Adrian-Nilsson [GAN]—‘Indianstrid’ (Indian Combat), reproduced on the conference posters and on the cover of this issue. As a homosexual from Scania in the South of Sweden, GAN was doubly excluded by the Centre, Stockholm, but he also often painted the Other: sailors, Indians and exotic creatures such as panthers. In this respect, he seemed the perfect theme for such a conference. […] The conference was a success, judging by the feedback from participants after the conference. It is therefore all the more pleasurable to be able to present a first collection of contributions to the conference, expanded with some additional essays and reviews, in this issue of Nordlit only half a year after the conference. A second collection, which focuses on the relation between avant-garde and periphery, will follow. I hope that the rich variety of articles on the themes of the conference will be of interest for scholars in all æsthetic fields. The articles are divided into three main categories: Firstly, there is a section containing theoretical investigations; this is followed by a section discussing the relation between different avant-gardes; finally, there is a section presenting avant-garde artists from different peripheries. Have a pleasant read.
Published:
2007-05-12
