Some aspects of the double disciplinarity of L.P. Boon in arts at the hand of metamorphoses of the most important protagonists of De Kapellekensbaan

Abstract

Louis Paul Boon forms part of the literary canon, which is why he is only perceived and researched as a writer. His visual art is largely ignored. As Boon is active in both disciplines, in this paper I consider the relationship between the two disciplines, from a literary perspective. Boon’s novel De Kapellekensbaan of de 1^ste illegale roman van Boontje (translated into English as Chapel Road) deals with the question how a contemporary novel should be written. Based on an analysis of its main characters, I determine what the relationship is between literature and the visual arts in this novel. I focus exclusively on the characters that represent literature or the visual arts, and help the “you” narrator create the novel. I pay special attention to those characters that temporarily change disciplines. The discourse is about the shortcomings of language that can be addressed through the visual arts. Despite the fact that the disciplines represent different modes of expression, they can complement each other.