Erkännandets villkor

Medias iscensättning av det autentiska

Abstract

This article deals with a graffiti artist in Stockholm. He has been invited to the art galleries to exhibit his works of art. Not much of his work, however, is commented on in the media. Media instead act out certain parts of the artists's biography. Media design a public scene where the visualisation of otherness relates to the artist's immigrant background and his environment, the suburb. With these elements media creates an otherness-scenery where he is expected to perform.

The idea behind the article is to unveil relations of power and the way power is reproduced. By notions of appreciation and attention in the media, the public stage is set, closely attached to the dichotomies of public and private, and authentic and fictive. Still, the most important element is missing, that of recognition.