Ecological perspectives in performing arts for children

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5311

Keywords:

performing arts for children, eco-theatre, posthumanism, art and nature

Abstract

This essay discusses ecological perspectives in performing arts for children, and the relationship between art, humans, animals, and our physical surroundings in the light of ideas about posthumanism, sympoiesis and artistic research processes. Artistic research methods have been used through the performing arts research project Neither Fish nor Fowl (Hovik, 2017-23) for kindergarten kids by and with Teater Fot, a theatre company led by the author. The final performance Animalium (Teater Fot, 2019-23), which provides examples for this essay, is developed through an improvisational and devised process guided by post humanist theories and plays with blurring the differences and disturbing the dividing lines between animals and humans. The research question examines how we can put ourselves aside, so that art and nature come more into view. The essay prepares for some new ecological approaches towards performing arts for children and sums up with a proposal on turning the attention to affect and emotional engagement, the sympoiesis of a “new we” and community between species, as well as staging utopian futures. 

Cover photo: Mattias Ormestad

Author Biography

Lise Hovik, Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education / OsloMet

Lise Hovik is professor of drama and theater at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education

References

Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the Universe Halfway. Duke University Press.

Balasubramanian, R. Dr. (2022). Navarasa. SpotWrite Publications.

BBC One (2009). The Vogelkop Bowerbird: Nature's Great Seducer. Film i serien Life, formidlet av David Attenbourough. https://youtu.be/E1zmfTr2d4c

BBC Earth (2017). Bird Of Paradise Courtship Spectacle. Film i serien Planet Earth, formidlet av David Attenbourough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWfyw51DQfU

Bowditch, Cole & Minnic (2023). Inside the Performance Workshop. A Sourcebook for Rasaboxes and Other Exercises. Routledge.

Braidotti, R (2019). Posthumanist Knowledge. Polity Press.

Benjamin, W. (1991). Kunstverket i reproduksjonsalderen - essays om kultur, litteratur og politikk. Gyldendal.

Deep Look (2015). You're Not Hallucinating. That's Just Squid Skin. Vitenskapelig video-serie. presentert på KQED San Francisco (nyhetskanal: https://www.kqed.org) av PBS Digital Studios: https://youtu.be/0wtLrlIKvJE

Deleuze, G. & Guattari, F. (1984a). Tusind Plateauer. Kunstakademiet. Kbh.

Deleuze, G. & Guattari, F. (1984b). Affekt, Persept og Konsept (oversatt av Stene-Johansen). I: Bale (1991) Estetiske teorier. Universitetsforlaget.

Dutton, D. (2009). The Art Instinct. Oxford University Press.

Elefantteatret (2023). Bambusdans. Danseprosjekt. https://www.elefantteateret.no/aktuelt-blogg/bambusdans-utlysning-for-dansekunstnere

FN-sambandet (2023). Bærekraftsmålene. Nettside. https://www.fn.no/om-fn/fns-baerekraftsmaal

Nettside om naturmangfold. https://www.fn.no/tema/klima-og-miljoe/naturmangfold

Fredly, H. (2022a). Lydhør kritikk: Animalium åpner sansene. Periskop 21.12.2022. https://periskop.no/lydhor-kritikk-animalium-apner-sansene/

Fredly, H. (2022b). Lydhør kritikk: Kritiker i klump. Periskop 22.12.22. https://periskop.no/lydhor-kritikk-kritiker-i-klump/

Fredly, H. (2022c). Lydhøre Samtaler: Lydhør Kritikk – en lydhør samtale mellom Hedda Fredly og Lise Hovik Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/user-759427528/lydhor-kritikk-en-lydhor-samtale-med-hedda-fredly

Glitterbird (2003). Dans Design. http://www.dansdesign.com/gb/

Haraway, D (2016). Staying with the trouble. Making kin in the Chtulucene. Duke University Press.

Haraway, D. (2019). Intervju i The Guardian 20.6.2019:

Feminist cyborg scholar Donna Haraway: ‘The disorder of our era isn’t necessary’.

Hovik, L. (2021). Kunst for småbarn. Historisk og dramaturgisk fagartikkel publisert i katalogen for KoreDa-festivalens 10-årsjubileum. https://koreda.no/kunst-for-smabarn/

Hovik, L (2014). Ulike definisjoner av begrepet affekt og dets anvendelsesområder. Begrepets betydning for samtidens scenekunst og – kommunikasjon. Prøveforelesning til disputas. I BARN - forskning om barn og barndom i Norden, Nr 2/14, 71-83. https://doi.org/10.5324/barn.v32i2.3486

Hovik, L. (2017-23) Neither Fish nor Fowl/Verken Fugl eller Fisk. Kunstnerisk forskningsprosjekt publisert i Research Catalogue. Nettside. https://www.researchcatalogue.net/profile/show-exposition?exposition=330627

Kunsthall Trondheim (2017). Nettside. Et Nytt Vi. https://kunsthalltrondheim.no/no/utstillinger/et-nytt-vi

Le Guin, U. K. (2019). The carrier bag theory of fiction. Ignota

Lydhør i Kongsgården (2019-21). Prosjektets hjemmeside. https://lydhorikongsgarden.wordpress.com/

Lydhøre Samtaler (2021). Animalium. Lydhør samtale med Teater Fot moderert av Carl Martin Faurby 11.06.21. Podcast i spilleliste på på SoundCloud: Lydhør-festivalen. https://soundcloud.com/user-759427528/animalium-en-samtale-med-teater-fot-moderert-av-carl-faurby-120621-podcast?in=user-759427528/sets/lydhor-festivalen

Malaguzzi, L. (2011). Et barn har hundre språk. Reggio Emilia Norges nettside. http://www.reggioemilia.no/et-barn-har-hundre-spraringk---loris-malaguzzi.html

Massumi, B. (1995). The autonomy of affect. Cultural Critique, 31 (The Politics of systems and environments, Part II), 83-109. Hentet fra https://www.jstor.org/stable/1354446

McFall-Ngai, M. (2017). Noticing Microbial Worlds. The Postmodern Synthesis in Biology. I: The arts of living on a damaged planet. University of Minnesota Press.

Mørstad, E. kunst i Store norske leksikon på snl.no. Hentet 8. september 2023 fra https://snl.no/kunst

Ormestad, M. (2023). En lommelykt i havet. Naturfag.no. Nettside. https://www.naturfag.no/artikkel/vis.html?tid=2128738

Schechner, R. (2001). Rasaesthetics. The Drama Review 43 (3 (T171) Fall). http://www.csun.edu/~vcspc00g/603/rasaesthetics.pdf

Spord Borgen, J. (2003). Kommunikasjonen er kunsten. Kulturdirektoratet. https://kudos.dfo.no/documents/kommunikasjonen-er-kunsten-evaluering-av-prosjektet-klangfugl-kunst-for-de-minste

Sticky (2022). Økohelter. Danseforestilling. https://www.stickydance.com/copy-of-ecoheroes

Rasaboxes (2023). Rasaboxes. Nettside. https://rasaboxes.com/

Teater Fot (2018). Animalium. Fagseminarer. https://teaterfot.no/omtaler/

Teater Fot (2019-23). Animalium. Teaterforestilling. https://teaterfot.no/rare-dyr-animalium/

Teater Fot (2023). Animalium på Kunstutstilling. Film laget av Lise Hovik. https://vimeo.com/805696641

Teater Fot (2017-19). Verken Fugl eller Fisk. Forestillinger. https://teaterfot.no/verken-fugl-eller-fisk/

von Bonsdorff, P. (2009). Gör barn konst? Sphinx. Årgang 2008-2009.

Øyteatret (2021). kinShips. Danseforestilling. http://oyteateret.com/mikro

Blekksprut sett forfra

Published

2023-11-22

How to Cite

Hovik, L. (2023). Ecological perspectives in performing arts for children. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5311