Can De Bruyckere be considered a public intellectual? M aud Schoonen (2005816) Often we see academic public intellectuals on tv, talking about subjects transcending their field of expertise. But it’s more rare to have a visual artist fulfilling this position. That is why the question can be asked: what makes someone a public intellectual and how do visual artists fit within this phenomenon? Based on a work by the Belgian visual artist Berlinde de Bruyckere (1964), Kreupelhout/Cripplewood1 , I will discuss if we can consider her a public intellectual. Alan Lightman (n.d.) defines a public intellectual as ‘a person who is often trained in a particular discipline and who is on the faculty of a college or university. When such a person decides to write and speak to a larger audience than their professional colleagues, he or she becomes a public intellectual.’2 This could be someone who transcends their original field of expertise and talks about a far bigger range of public topics. But do these criteria also apply for visual artists? In most cases, they aren’t an active academic and focus on a completely different audience. De Bruyckere’s work, focuses ‘on life and death as well as pain and suffering and emphasizes how human existence is anchored in the flesh. In her work a constant process of transformation between growth and decay is visible.’ (Le Ridder, n.d.)3 These metamorphoses are clearly evident in her work Kreupelhout/Cripplewood. This piece shows an enormous tree covered with wax and is painted in human skin tones. ‘The artist discussed “Cripplewood/Kreupelhout” in the following manner: you can look at the tree as a huge, wounded body. It’s as if it needs to be taken care of – as if nurses came by and bandaged it.”‘ (Hirsch, in Kusek & Szymanski, 2015, p. 18) 4 De Bruyckere ‘derives her inspiration from current media images but also from the classical iconography of art history’ (Le Ridder, n.d.) and thus reacts to society and the ongoing debate, but does so in a more abstract way. In my opinion, this makes her work less public, since it’s focusses on a specific audience with an interest in art. De Bruyckere is not active in public media nor on social media expressing her opinion and therefore isn’t entering a dialogue with her audience. Although in her art she can react to subjects outside her expertise, they will still be visible only to a select group of people. Clearly then De Bruyckere can be considered an intellectual, but not a public one. (Devriendt, n.d.)5 Berlinde De Bruyckere Kreupelhout – Cripplewood 2012 – 2013 wax, epoxy, iron, fabric, robe, paint, gypsum, roofing 626 (h) x 1002 x 1686 cm 2 Lightman, A. (n.d.). The Role of the Public Intellectual [Forum post]. Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/papers/lightman.html 3 Le Rider, J. (n.d.). Berlinde De Bruyckere. Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/75/berlinde-de-bruyckere 4 Kusek, R., & Szymanski, W. (2015). An Unlikely Pair: Berlinde De Bruyckere and J.M. Coetzee. Werkwinkel, 10(1), 13-32. doi:10.1515/werk-2015-0002 5 Devriendt, M. (n.d.). [Berlinde De Bruyckere, Kreupelhout – Cripplewood, 2012–13, installation view] [Photograph]. Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.artnews.com/2016/03/31/berlinde-de-bruyckere-at-hauser-wirth-new-york/03-16_paae_berlinde-de-bruyck ere_2/ 1
