Historically Speaking: The Workings of the Past in a Performance by Olof Olsson

TY - JOUR

T1 - Historically Speaking

T2 - The Workings of the Past in a Performance by Olof Olsson

AU - Sørensen, Trine Friis

PY - 2015/11

Y1 - 2015/11

N2 - This article sets out to untangle the workings of the past in a performance by Danish-Swedish-Dutch artist Olof Olsson. Leaving behind the official documents of the Danmarks Radio (DR) Archive, Olsson explores the byroads of radio history through a miscellaneous assortment of nugatory documents and objects. The article proceeds as a close reading of aspects of Olsson’s performance using three figures described by Walter Benjamin – the collector, the storyteller and the historian – as points of reference. By tracing out the contours of these figures in Olsson’s performance, I am able to elucidate the subversive potentiality of his digressive narrative.

AB - This article sets out to untangle the workings of the past in a performance by Danish-Swedish-Dutch artist Olof Olsson. Leaving behind the official documents of the Danmarks Radio (DR) Archive, Olsson explores the byroads of radio history through a miscellaneous assortment of nugatory documents and objects. The article proceeds as a close reading of aspects of Olsson’s performance using three figures described by Walter Benjamin – the collector, the storyteller and the historian – as points of reference. By tracing out the contours of these figures in Olsson’s performance, I am able to elucidate the subversive potentiality of his digressive narrative.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Performance

KW - archive

KW - radio

KW - history

KW - copyright

KW - Walter Benjamin

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1318-0509

VL - 30

SP - 148

EP - 159

JO - Maska

JF - Maska

IS - 172-174

ER -