The spaces and places that we as humans occupy, interact with, and shape through means of public expression are essential parts of our identity. This is the idea at the core of the research of Professor, Dr. Caitlin Bruce, who explores the intersection of art, politics, publics, and identity in a transnational context.
Growing up in New York City in a family of theater artists informed Dr. Bruce’s own interest in public art as a form of expression and as an amplifying force for diverse voices.
“My family started an outdoor theater company in the late 90s when I was a teenager,” Bruce said. “The goal of the organization was to create accessible theater for everyone and also create more inclusive casting and mentor young artists. So growing up in this environment informed a lot of how I think about the world.”
What began as a personal exposure to accessible art evolved into an academic pursuit when Dr. Bruce moved to Chicago for undergrad and grad school. Living, studying, and conducting research in the city connected her to writers (the term graffiti and street artists use to refer to themselves) and helped expand her network in the public art field.
“Through research and projects in grad school, I got to know a lot of artists in the Chicago area, and anyone who studies in the graffiti and street art area will tell you that once you know someone from one place you will know people from all over the world,” Bruce said. “Forming these connections launched me into analyzing the work of writers all over the world.”
The study of public and street art as forms of communication is a relatively new subfield of the communication discipline. For many years, Dr. Bruce and her colleagues had to advocate to be seen as a legitimate area of study. “To be studying graffiti or street art was, for a while, seen as different from traditional forms of visual rhetoric, and so I had to do a lot of justifying why these mediums count as communicating,” Bruce said. Today, she is encouraged by its growing recognition within the discipline. “Now we don’t have to do that anymore, which is really nice. In general, the communication field started off being a very text- and language-based discipline and I think in a lot of ways it has expanded to all kinds of domains of sensation and forms of media.”
For Dr. Bruce, Pittsburgh provides a rich environment to continue this work.
“Pittsburgh as a city is amazing,” Bruce said. I think that the industrial and post industrial history in present-day Pittsburgh is super vibrant for thinking about issues about public art, public space, and how people make meaning and form identity. This movement is not a past that’s done, it’s a past that’s still continuing because we still have mills open and are still a city of industry and labor. So for me, as someone who is interested in space and place as well as art and questions of storytelling, Pittsburgh has been great.”
This connection between art, place, and communication also aligns closely with the ethos of the Communication Department here at the University of Pittsburgh. “One great thing about our department is that there is a strong emphasis placed on the intersection of different forms of media and different forms of communication,” Bruce said. “I really love that our department has this focus on media and rhetoric.”
Beyond her research, Dr. Bruce is deeply invested in how students engage with their surroundings and interact with their community in Pittsburgh. “I hope that students who take courses with me can gain an appreciation for the joys of research. It’s a great way to connect with the place that you’re living in. I think that sometimes there is a division between university and city, even though we exist within the city. For me, that was something that was really world opening as an undergraduate, just being able to live and participate in a new city, and I hope that’s something my students can gain.”
Dr. Bruce’s work exemplifies the expanding boundaries of the communication field, illustrating how visual rhetoric and public art can deepen our understanding of identity, community, and participation. Her commitment to studying and teaching the power of expression in public spaces ensures that students and scholars alike continue to see communication as an evolving practice.