7.11.2024
Doctoral thesis on the atmospheres of trams in art
M.A. Aleksandra Ianchenko’s doctoral thesis in English Language and Literature will be put forth for public defence at the Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled Estranging Trams: Atmospheres of Trams in Art.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on 12 November 2024, at 10AM in room M-648, Tallinn University, Uus-Sadama 5, Tallinn, Estonia. You can also follow the defence online and in auditorium Helikon, Arken, Tehtaankatu 2, Turku. Professor Peter Adey, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom and Professor Annette Arlander, The University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki), Finland, will serve as opponents and Professor Jason Finch, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
Did you know there is a term for a preference for rail-based transport such as trains and trams? Scholars call it a ‘rail- or tram factor’ and it makes people decide whether to take a tram or bus. It seems that sometimes people choose trams due to the certain appeal that outweighs the objective criteria of time, speed and cost. In her thesis, Aleksandra looks at the power of a tram factor to understand what makes trams so appealing.
According to her, this appeal has been formed over a long history of trams as one of the first means of urban public transport. During this time, trams have undergone technological transformations and shifts in peoples’ perceptions. A mix of awe and terror towards the first electric trams at the turn of the 20th century changed to disgust and boredom during a so-called ‘Tram Closure’ at the mid-century. Afterwards, trams experienced their Renaissance and now, continue to serve in many European cities where they are regarded as an environmentally friendly urban transport.
To study these changes or oddities of trams, Aleksandra connected the history of trams with the history of art. She proposes to estrange trams or to look at them not as a mundane means of public transport but as a subject and platform for art. She analysed the portrayal of trams in 20th-century visual art (Trams in Art) and public art placed in tram environments (Art in Trams). This analysis defines the key tram metaphors, for instance, trams as moving houses or large animals, carriers to the world of dreams and memories, etc., and establishes a tradition of Tram Art.
Although tram appeal is mainly positive, atmospheres of a particular tram journey can be different, both pleasant and otherwise. Therefore, there is a need to study tram atmospheres situationally. For this, Aleksandra employed her ongoing artistic practice. She made on-site sketches and staged site-specific performances aboard trams and at tram stops in Tallinn, Estonia. She walked and drew chalk lines as metaphors to the closed tram network in Turku, Finland. Aleksandra’s thesis is artistic research that resulted both in academic publications and artworks (drawings and performances). It connects studies on transport, mobility and atmospheres with the history, theory and practice of art.
Aleksandra Ianchenko can be reached by email aleksandra.ianchenko@abo.fi.
A summary of the doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.
Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.
Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:
To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.