World ofHeineken 39 - winter 2008/2009
Barbara Visser
detail from: Former Futures (2008)
courtesy Annet Gelink Gallery/ Manifesta7.
MOTIVATION AND PERSPECTIVE
Bert Brunekreef said the force that continues
to drive him is the work itself, "basically, I like
what I am doing," he says. "It is like doing a
hobby and being paid for it. My chosen field
deals with real world problems and bringing
solutions to the real world."
To his peers, students and colleagues, the
prize announcement was no great surprise.
In a laudation by Professor Brunekreef's
promoter for an Honorary Doctorate
awarded earlier this year by the Leuven
Catholic University (Belgium), Professor
Benoit Nemery de Bellevaux told of one
example of Brunekreef's ability to inspire. It
came from a student who wanted his thesis
published while Professor Nemery was
working as the assistant editor of a scientific
journal, but was rejected. It read;
"Dear Dr. Nemery, despite the heavy
disappointment of a manuscript rejection
I understand your decision and appreciate
your encouraging words. In particular I would
express my thanks to reviewer 1 - if such
thorough reviews are the standard of your
journal, it will be my pleasure to consider it for
future submissions!"
The anonymous and unpaid reviewer was
Bert Brunekreef," said Nemery.
Brunekreef himself is the author of many
of the most highly cited articles in the field
of Environment Health, totalling more than
300 in number. He is also the winner of the
2007 Goldsmith Award from the International
Society of Environmental Epidemiology and
the 2007 European Lung Foundation Award.
INTERNATIONAL BENEFITS
Although Professor Brunekreef is based
in Utrecht, his work and concerns for the
environment have taken him to many corners
of the globe. This has given the scientist a
worldwide perspective when it comes to
trying to solve the pollution question. One
ambition of his is to use the money from the
Heineken Prize to benefit people living in
other countries.
"I want to use the prize money for giving
study grants at Utrecht University to foreign
students from developing countries," says
Bert Brunekreef. "Many people want to study
in our programme but find it difficult to get
sufficient support. Large areas within these
countries suffer greater problems than in the
West. It would be useful for them to develop
their own expertise. At the moment I am
trying to figure out how to bring in as many
students as possible. We want to assess which
students have the greatest potential and
which have the greatest need. I think that is
an appropriate way to use the money."
THE ARTIST
Another Heineken Prize winner who has been
able to provide a clear picture of our present
day society is the Dutch visual artist Barbara
Visser. Her photos, videos and installations
have not only provided a refreshing twist
on art for onlookers, they also deliver brave
and powerful messages on the complexities
of modern day life. One example is her 2002
work, The World Belongs to Early Risers,
which is a series of photographs of a man
sunbathing on the seashore while, a short
distance away, photographers are snapping
photos of a man who has washed up on the
beach.
Like her fellow prize winner Bert Brunekreef,
winning the Heineken Prize was the last thing
the artist expected. "I read the flattering
words that the jury wrote in their report. I
was surprised about their term 'consistently
distinct signature' as I have always been
criticized for trying to avoid a too obvious
signature in my work. My aim is to keep
questioning myself, the world, the arts,
even though I am in some respects more
successful now than a decade ago. This even
increases the need for a critical point of
view on what I do. That doesn't always make
it enjoyable, sometimes it seems, the artist
does suffer, after all."
KEEPING CREATIVE
One constant battle that an artist must face
is how to maintain that creative focus and
energy. Visser finds life itself one of the
providers of her inspiration.
"New ideas come mainly from something I am
fascinated by already - usually for a very long
time. For me, the constant confrontation with
worlds other than the art world itself is the
most fruitful."
When asked what inspires her creations,
Barbara says, "It can be many things. I look at
the world with a combination of amazement,
irony and irritation I guess. Looking at the way
we shape the world, we shape events, our
history and trying to understand how we do
this is at once boring in it's banality and bizarre
because we experience things as normal that
are not, just because they are familiar."
ROOM TO WORK
Barbara says the prize will help her buy
time and perhaps space too. "One of the
discrepancies that separate art from many
other businesses, is that becoming more
successful is not directly linked to having
the financial means. For instance, to employ
people to take on the rapidly increasing
amounts of work indirectly related to showing
the artworks. One strives for the works to
become more known and to widen ones
scope. I sometimes wonder what the role of
this award has in achieving this; becoming
part of the establishment changes the role
one has in the arts."
The next awards will take place in 2010.
www.heinekenprizes.com
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