PhD project: Π (2015-)
The project’s title is Π. The Greek letter Pi (lower-case) is known as a mathematical symbol, but in Iunker’s doctoral project in artistic research, the letter serves as an illustration of its general composition. The project consists of three parts; the play Stemmer fra Israel (Voices From Israel) together with accompanying commentary (Column A, the left leg of Π), two libretto works with accompanying commentary (Column B, the right leg of Π), as well as an overreaching part (Bar C, the horizontal part of Π).

The figure Π can be seen to show that the doctoral work is based on two works of art (or two art complexes), namely the lower part of the two pillars, respectively, that the commentaries are supported by the art works (not the other way around), and that the content of the bar is supported by the contents of the columns (not the other way around).

Column A: Stemmer fra Israel (Voices from Israel) is a political play on assaults on Palestinians committed by Israeli soldiers. The commentary discusses what distinguishes political art from other aesthetic practices, but also, more specifically, how traditional advice on style can or should be guiding for modern for working out lines in modern (post-expressionistic) drama.

Column B: One of the libretto works is about Walter Benjamin’s death in Portbou; the other about the Paris commune of 1871. The commentary suggests that a libretto doesn’t need to be as irrelevant as everyone expects it to be; rather, it can supply modern musical drama with elements traditionally found outside the domain of music, such as narrative structures. The libretto can also speak clearly. Unlike the modern art music.

Bar C discusses the position of my dramatic works within the tradition from Georg Büchner, Bertolt Brecht and Heiner Müller. This section also promotes criticism previous dissertations in artistic research, for the purpose of making recommendations for future improvements.

Recent Submissions