How Audience Bodies Form

Tuomas H Laitinen

This artistic doctoral research approaches art, not as a variety of artworks or performances, but as a variety of collective bodies that are summoned. It addresses the subordinate and complicit way collective audience bodies form in relation to artistic performances. The commentary introduces the concept of an “audience body”, emerging when individual bodies gather to become an audience. Audience bodies are described through preconditions that are needed for one to appear, conditions that contribute to its subsistence and variables that determine the primary qualities and the degree of actuality of that audience body. More specifically, the commentary addresses the local genre of “esitystaide”, developed especially in the Helsinki-area during the last 30 years. Neologism “beforemance art” is introduced due to a lack of an English equivalent. Esitystaide/beforemance art is the artistic context of this study and is presented as a genre of art, in which the complicity of audience bodies is a fundamental material of artistic creation. The Finnish word “esitys”, being the medium of the genre of esitystaide, is defined as the sum of a performance and an audience body. The theoretical approach towards audience bodies is presented as impartial with regard to different genres of art, but the practice of research favours esitystaide/beforemance art. This leads to political conclusions that defend the exposed complicity of and the experimental relation to audience bodies which are characteristic for this specific genre. This theoretical argumentation has been developed through an iterative series of 30 drafts and two examined artistic parts, made by the author, as well as through a parapractice of audience membership. The drafts and examined parts are works of esitystaide/beforemance art, in which printed or digital texts are staged in different ways for audiences to read. The works and the thinking developed in them have been significantly affected by dialogues with audience members and their feedback. The commentary discloses how the process of thinking, resulting in the main arguments of the work, has evolved through this artistic research practice and how temporal, spatial, textual and material design of the events has been developed to address more adequately the phenomenon of an audience body. The parapractice of audience membership is introduced as a term describing the attendance of artworks made by others—a way of accumulating knowledge parallel to and yet different from practicing art. The arguments made in the commentary aim to provide conceptual tools for artists, scholars and pedagogues who attend the phenomenon of audience in their work. They can also serve as a basis for further research on the political significance of esitystaide/beforemance art and related art forms. Methodologically, the research offers an example of an iterative and dialogical artistic research practice and its presentation; the relationship between art and theory unfolds as both fruitful and troubled. Through the introduction of the parapractice of audience membership, it argues for using art, equally to the use of bibliographical materials, as reference material of artistic research. Through the use of a Finnish term and its local context as part of concept-creation in English, the work defends the importance of local thinking, which links artistic research to the land upon which it takes form.

Acknowledgements

This research project has been enabled by a multitude of collaborators, other professionals and relatives. The collective and collaborative nature of making art in this field cannot be stressed too much—while the research is authored by myself (and this sole author is named on the cover page, showing where responsibility for it can be traced), in fact so many people have taken part to its writing that I am unable to name all of them. My warm and humble thanks to all those mentioned below as well as those I have failed to mention.

Supervisors Esa Kirkkopelto and Gareth White

Examiners Adam Alston and Annette Arlander

Collaborators—this is a web of people which extends further and further but at least the following groups and individuals have to be mentioned:

in examined artistic parts: Nanni Vapaavuori, Maiju Loukola, Alexander Furunes Eriksson, Carolina Jinde, Visa Knuuttila

in drafts: Olga Spyropoulou, Charlotta Ruth, Tülay Schakir, Elina Saloranta

in projects and residencies:

Treasury (Wolfgang Preisinger, Vida Cerkvenik Bren, Katerina Kokkinos-Kennedy and others)

patch the sky with 5 colored stones (Daria Faïn, Robert Kocik, Anaïs Maviel, Athena Kokoronis, Christian Konrad Schröder, David Thomson, Melanie Maar, Tuçe Yasak, Alex Romania, Marya Wethers, Shana Crawford and others)

Jokin meissä valvoo (Heidi Backström, Titta Halinen, Lea Kalenius, Johanna Matruka, Pilvi Porkola, Janne Saarakkala, Jonna Wikström)

Performance Wagon (Titta Halinen, Jonna Wikström, Janne Saarakkala, Julius Elo, Maria Santavuori, Katriina Kettunen, Jussi Salminen, Minja Mertanen, Tuire Tuomisto, Talvikki Eerola)

Saari Residency (Siiri Viljakka, Pia Palme, Carlos Zerpa, Satu Hakamäki, Karolina Kucia, Elie Halonen, María Alejandra Rojas)

Kotiteatteri (Laura Rämä, Elisa Piispanen, Aku Meriläinen, Ulla Päivikkö)

The Stage for Contemporary Performance (Riikka Thitz, Suvi Tuominen, Antti Lahti)

Postdigital (Jussi Salminen and others)

Fellow doctoral candidates—at least the following had a meaningful impact on my research:

Karolina Kucia, Tuire Colliander, Saara Hannula, Outi Condit, Jaakko Ruuska, Merja Briñón, Stephanie Misa, Henna Laininen, Max McBride, Gabriele Goria, Nanni Vapaavuori, Katariina Numminen, Vincent Roumagnac, Simo Kellokumpu, Otso Huopaniemi, Mikko Bredenberg, Mammu Rankanen, Nora Rinne, James MacDonald, Klaus Maunuksela, Veli Lehtovaara, Hanna Pajala-Assefa, Hanna Rajakangas, Juli Reinartz, Kenneth Siren, Riku Saastamoinen, Liisa Jaakonaho, Olive Bieringa

Professors and lecturers at Tutke and Kuva: Leena Rouhiainen, Kirsi Heimonen, Mika Elo, Lea Kantonen, Hanna Järvinen, Laura Gröndahl, Pilvi Porkola, Tuija Kokkonen as well as all other Uniarts staff members who helped me on the way

Alm Gnista and Aune Kallinen for helping with the Swedish translation of the abstract.

Curators and other gatekeepers who welcomed my work: Maire Karuvirta (Poriginal Gallery), Efva Lilja (Danse Hallerne), Ray Langenbach (Palestine Performance Symposium), Summer Academy of Artistic Research in Malmö, Kerstin Scroth & Isabel Gonzales (Moving in November Festival), Satu Herrala (Baltic Circle International Theatre Festival), Anssi Pirttineva (The Deaconess Foundation), Ilona Lehtinen (Helsinki Rudolf Steiner School), Alex Arteaga (Through Phenomena Themselves Research Cell), Daria Faïn (patch the sky with 5 colored stones), Aune Kallinen (Center of Joint Studies at Teak), Maiju Loukola (Redistributing Common Sensorium course), Alliances & Commonalities, LIKE, The Epistolary Research Network, Aapo Korkeaoja & others at Kankaanpää Art School, Heidi Backström (Jokistudio), Raahe Theatre, Riikka Thitz (Ebb & Flow), Julius Elo & Katja Kirsi (Reality Research Center), Kone Foundation's Saari Residency, Zodiak Center for New Dance, Artistic Doctorates in Europe, Leena Kela & María Villa Largacha (New Performance Turku Biennale), Dietmar “Kobby” Kobboldt (theaterszene europa festival) as well as all the unmentioned staff members of these organizations who were involved

An abundant amount of inspirational sources, contributing to the formation of concepts, for example: María Alejandra Rojas for retribution, Mia Wennerstrand for the sin of theory, Biitsi for the ancestral art works, Ray Langenbach for not opening your eyes, Vincent Roumagnac for leaving the room, Gareth White & Pia Palme for resonance, Hanna Helavuori & Esa Kirkkopelto for atunement, Jan Ritsema & Reza Negarestani for complicity and so on and so on...

Everyone at Reality Research Center: Julius Elo, Pilvi Porkola, Maria Oiva, Jani-Petteri Olkkonen, Eero-Tapio Vuori, Risto Santavuori, Pekko Koskinen, Saara Hannula, Katja Kirsi and all others who I have worked with during past two decades as well as plenty of other agents of the freelance field with whom my practice has evolved (several of who are mentioned in the commentary)

Neighbours Aakusti, Jenny, Eero and Elisabet for discussions and book loans

All research informants, including Satu Herrala, Hanna Guttorm, Shawn Chua, Lynda Gaudreau, Pekka Kantonen, Minna Heikinaho, Mia Wennerstrand, Saara Moisio and Hanna Helavuori

All those who let me use their photos or photos of them

All artists whose work I attended

All audience members of my research works

Ancestry, especially my mother Leea and my father Heikki for an openminded and loving (and art&research-ful!) upbringing and coexistence

The next generation: Ilari, Volta and Valpuri

And most importantly Janina Rajakangas for answering B, companionship and all the rest

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Tuomas H Laitinen - How Audience Bodies Form - 2025