Open AccessArt brut oder die Überwindung der Biomacht
Author(s) -
Małgorzata Bogaczyk-Vormayr
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ethics in progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2084-9257
DOI - 10.14746/eip.2014.2.8
Subject(s) - biopower , alterity , normality , character (mathematics) , german , sociology , ostracism , psychoanalysis , psychology , aesthetics , art , psychiatry , politics , political science , history , philosophy , law , epistemology , social psychology , geometry , mathematics , archaeology
In this comprehensive paper, I present the thesis that the clinical biopower—which means biopouvoir according to Michel Foucault—can be countered with the help of artistic ability. In this sense, the psychiatric clinic may turn into a space of inclusion, respect, and true self-unfolding. Following Jean Dubuffet, I give a definition of art brut and analyze some works of German and Austrian outsiders of the 20th century, who succeeded in overcoming life-crises, such as childhood poverty, experiences of war, psychical illness, or social ostracism. I match the biopolitical character of psychiatry clinics against the most recent ideas of art therapy. The remainder of the article is organized in four parts: (1) Introduction: Raw Art, (2) Alterity: Beyond of Normality and Pathology, (3) Talent for Sovereignty, (4) Conclusion: The Between.