Learning to Live with Ghosts in the Aftermath of War: On documentary strategies in Rabih Mroué’s How Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool's Joke.

The past decade has witnessed a surge in quasi-documentary art forms engaging with the topic of war and conflict. Taking its point of departure in this trend, this article will analyse and discuss the performanceHow Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool's Jokeby Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué....

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of War & Culture Studies Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 328 - 347
Autor principal: Gade, Solveig
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Nov2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The past decade has witnessed a surge in quasi-documentary art forms engaging with the topic of war and conflict. Taking its point of departure in this trend, this article will analyse and discuss the performanceHow Nancy Wished That Everything Was an April Fool's Jokeby Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué. Positioning the performance within the specific context of post-war Lebanon, the article will explore the ways in which the twisted documentary strategy employed by Mroué, that is, an approach entailing the blending of fact and fiction, might be said to work as a critical strategy, ultimately inviting the audience to question the existing, competing renderings of the Lebanese Civil War. Based on these findings, the article will conclude by suggesting why the quasi-documentary format has developed such evident appeal for artists wrestling with the topic of war in the contemporary era of visual warfare.