Työtä vai leikkiä?

Rosa Liksomin ambivalentti taiteilijakuva

• Kasimir Sandbacka Oulun yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30665/av.74869

Abstract

Work or play? The ambivalent image of Rosa Liksom

This article explores the doublespeak of Rosa Liksom’s public image – how it seeks to separate the public author-subject from the private person while simultaneously emphasizing that the works of Liksom obtain their artistic appeal from authentic experiences and exceptional life of their author. It discusses how the writer–artist and work–play dichotomies upheld by the author are intermingled with each other and with the fealty the market economy demands from art. The article investigates how Liksom’s image is constructed by the publicity relating to the 2011 Finlandia book award, what motivates this construction, and how this construction is both a continuation Liksom’s previous publicity strategy and a deviation from it. It argues that while Liksom’s new, more open outlook can be seen as compliance with the rules of market economy, her novel openness can also be interpreted as a critical project with an ironic edge – a form of professional self-reflection that brings to light the economic and political constraints under which art and literature have to operate.