Igenkänning, lånat gods och minnesfragment : En tematisk studie av de narrativa egenskaperna i tre bilder av Karin Mamma Andersson

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the narrative elements in three of the Swedish artist Karin Mamma Anderssons paintings and try to see what kind of stories that might be hidden in these paintings. I have chosen three different themes as tools for this study. They are: the meaning or the importance of the titles, painting as a medium and the narrative elements or components in the paintings. Furthermore I also use the semiotic method in my analysis based on the ideas of Roland Barthes combined with a feminist theoretical standpoint with a gender perspective. This means my study is based on the reception of these images and what kind of message they might carry. The knowledge that Andersson uses influences from different male artists in her work is the main reason to applying the gender perspective to my analysis. A comparison between the different images or paintings is also made to see whether or not they share the same kind of narrative structure and if that in some way makes us as viewers give them a certain kind of meaning that is similar, or even the same, in all three cases. The analysis is held as a discussion where I look at different parts of the images and by comparing them create an interpretation and understanding of the three images. I found that it is because there is no clear or obvious meaning when it comes to understanding the content of the three images which makes them so strong in their narrative aspects and what makes them appealing. Also, according to my analysis, there is something familiar about them, which I argue is mainly because of Anderssons subtle use of art historical references