Pia Arke's essay Ethnoaesthetics is seen as an important, and in the Nordic context, a very early attempt at a postcolonial art theory and representational criticism. In the essay, Arke (1958–2007) engages with the special conditions under which so-called ethnic artists work. She delivers a devastating critique of the West's romanticization and stereotyping of 'authentic' 'Eskimo' 'primitive' art – and of the West as only 'civilised', 'modern' and 'complex'. The book was originally published in 1995 and is thus a reissue.
In a broader perspective, Pai Arke's essay is about art in general - and about the prerequisites for understanding and interpreting art, and about the advantages of considering art as something that comes into being in the space between cultures.
Pia Arke made significant contributions to the staged photography, and she was the first artist to evoke images of the silence that marked the history of Greenland's and Denmark's colonial relationship.
Despite an untimely death, Pia Arke is today considered a very important artist, and with 15 works, she is the second most represented artist in Louisiana's collection of recent art.
Dimensions: H: 20.8 x W: 17 x D: 0.6 cm
Pages, 79, paperback
Languages: Greenlandic, English, Danish
Author: Pia Arke
Publisher: Pia Arke Estate