Art! Power! Orders and Borders in Norwegian Art today, 2014

On the basis of field analytical theory and methodology, the project is planned as a real integrated and multidisciplinary exploration of the links between on the one hand, institutional, political and economic conditions and their impact on the artistic autonomy and distributions of recognition (symbolic capital) and on the other hand the artistic processes, aesthetic choices and experiences gained in connection with production and reception in specific situations and works. The project examines therefore the relationship between an institutional order, marked by political governance and culture industrial marketing approaches, and artistic freedom and autonomy. The term "selection" examines and focuses the research towards the power that lies in the inclusion, selection, valuation and recognition of artists and works. The term "negotiation" examines and focuses research analyzes on the autonomy issues and artistic strategies and experiences that occur when an art field's limit is exceeded, exceeded or questioned.

The project organizes its research along two axes: 1) A transverse, horizontal axis, which aims to study the four art fields comparatively and individually in terms of how the fields are characterized by cultural policy and economic institutions and logics, especially with regards to the selection and negotiation. 2) A vertical axis with continuous, but individual case studies, which focus on how the links between the field's peculiar power structure acts in specific processes and situations in production and reception where the fields' boundaries are broken and questioned. In its unifying theoretical perspective and reasoning for the choice of empirical approaches and methods, the project uses a field-theoretical approach. Field theory allows an interdisciplinary approach between social sciences and humanities that is demanded in the project where both work analysis and more institutional analyzes should be explored together.