According to cultural theorist Sianne Ngai, zaniness is a specific aesthetic category characterised by the performance of affective labour within late capitalism, its reliance on fragmented, multiple forms of subjectivity, and the economic value given to flexible, fluid social relations. This article argues that the work of Sydney-based artists Heath Franco, Rosie Deacon and the collaborative group Barbara Cleveland can be described through this category, demonstrating how ‘zaniness’, while seemingly placeless as a global category, must be articulated to specific regional responses that negotiate the local with larger, non-specific and immaterial flows of capital. My goal here is to demonstrate formal and thematic consistencies between these artists, specifically arguing that they all rely on an aesthetic of performativity in that they depend on the ability to do many forms of cultural and economic work. For instance, they rely on the grotesque or obsessive in their performances, and they intertwine a multiplicity of personas with forms of affective labour that characterise post-Fordist economies. That these artists are Australian, and often present a unique vision of themselves and their work as being seen from the outside through various centre-margin relations as Australian (while never actually buying into an authentic perception of ‘Australian’ identity) is not unrelated to their zaniness. They are subject to what Terry Smith has written about as the ‘provincialism problem’. Of course, not only Australian artists are provincial, but these general centre-margin relations in the arts affect different regions and artists in inconsistent ways. Smith agrees with Heather Baker and Charles Green when they say that the main goal of his classic article was to frame the extent of provincial effects and, through a focus on the ‘political rather than aesthetic context’ find a possible way ‘around outsider status’. Each artist I discuss here demonstrates how an outsider status can be worked around through an affect of zaniness and its subsequent inability to, and resistance to the capitalist requirement that one, mesh one's body with the assumedly smooth, mechanical, or informational surfaces that characterise much contemporary work.

中文翻译：

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努力玩耍：当代艺术中的疯狂与劳动

根据文化理论家 Sianne Ngai 的说法，zaniness 是一种特定的美学类别，其特征是晚期资本主义中情感劳动的表现，它依赖于碎片化的、多种形式的主体性，以及赋予灵活、流动的社会关系的经济价值。这篇文章认为，悉尼艺术家 Heath Franco、Rosie Deacon 和合作团体 Barbara Cleveland 的作品可以通过这个类别来描述，展示了“zaniness”虽然作为一个全球类别看似无处可去，但必须与特定的区域反应联系起来以更大的、非特定的和非物质的资本流动与当地谈判。我的目标是展示这些艺术家之间形式和主题的一致性，特别指出，它们都依赖于一种表演美学，因为它们依赖于从事多种形式的文化和经济工作的能力。例如，他们在表演中依赖怪诞或强迫症，并将多种角色与后福特经济特征的情感劳动形式交织在一起。这些艺术家是澳大利亚人，并且经常通过各种中心边缘关系从外部看到他们作为澳大利亚人的独特视角（虽然从未真正接受对“澳大利亚”身份的真实看法）与他们的滑稽。它们受制于特里·史密斯 (Terry Smith) 所写的“省级主义问题”。当然，不仅澳大利亚艺术家是省级的，但是艺术中这些一般的中心-边缘关系以不一致的方式影响着不同的地区和艺术家。Smith 同意 Heather Baker 和 Charles Green 的观点，他们说他的经典文章的主要目标是确定省级影响的范围，并通过关注“政治而非审美背景”找到“绕过局外人地位”的可能方法. 我在这里讨论的每一位艺术家都展示了如何通过滑稽的影响以及随之而来的无能和抵制资本主义要求来解决局外人的身份，即一个人将自己的身体与假定的光滑、机械或信息表面相结合，这些表面具有许多特征当代作品。史密斯同意 Heather Baker 和 Charles Green 的观点，他们说他的经典文章的主要目标是确定省级影响的范围，并通过关注“政治而非审美背景”找到“绕过局外人地位”的可能方法. 我在这里讨论的每一位艺术家都展示了如何通过滑稽的影响以及随之而来的无能和抵制资本主义要求来解决局外人的身份，即一个人将自己的身体与假定的光滑、机械或信息表面相结合，这些表面具有许多特征当代作品。Smith 同意 Heather Baker 和 Charles Green 的观点，他们说他的经典文章的主要目标是确定省级影响的范围，并通过关注“政治而非审美背景”找到“绕过局外人地位”的可能方法. 我在这里讨论的每一位艺术家都展示了如何通过滑稽的影响以及随之而来的无能和抵制资本主义要求来解决局外人的身份，即一个人将自己的身体与假定的光滑、机械或信息表面相结合，这些表面具有许多特征当代作品。