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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: December 31, 2004
Latest Update: December 31, 2004
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

A Sociological Response to Jenny Saville's Strategy

On December 30, Kirsty wrote:

"Hi, my name is Kirsty . . . I am a 2nd year college student, studying Art & Design. My current project is a contextual and analytical piece on Jenny Saville. Whilst browsing the net I came across your views on Strategy which helped me alot.

"I was hoping that you might be able to offer me some more idea's and interpretations on the themes of her work.

Hope to hear from you but if not thanks for taking the time to read my e-mail
Regards Kirsty"

On December 30, 2004, jeanne responded:

"Hi, Kirsty. I'm a practicing artist, college professor, and visual sociologist, not in an art department, so I don't know how acceptable my ideas would be to art teachers. I'm in the midst of something now, but will try to get back to you tomorrow, if you're interested. I guess my primary sense of strategy is that in a day of obsessive concern with obesity, Jenny Saville makes me take a different look at the body of woman. Where we're used to seeing the thin curves of the mud flap naked lady, Saville looks more closely, at the curves and colors and shapes in and of themselves, not as decorative flashes. I think that matters sociologically in lots of ways."

On December 31, 2004, Kirsty responded:

"Thanks for your reply, and yes although you may feel that your idea's may not be acceptable to my art teachers I feel that your idea's will help me, because when I first started this project it was because I found the actual art interesting, however, as I further read articles from both positive and negative critiques I am finding that my project is progressing from the art into a deeper understanding of the idea's that influenced it. Nevertheless, the main problem I have found is that there is little in-depth discussion or analysis of Jenny's work so any help at this moment will be greatly appreatiated."

Kirsty

I have no idea what direction Kirsty is going in, but I was a little surprised at the extent to which Strategy, a painting of Jenny Saville's had intrigued me. So it seems a good opportunity to take some time over winter break to explore what that painting means to me, and, especially since the naked lady and obesity have played such a large role in our Naked Space exhibits, I thought I'd like to open the discussion to transform_dom.

I went back to some older files on Jenny Saville, and was surprised at what I might have been saying myself as I played with part of the painting:

• The Body of Woman Version 1.

• Bodies great, bodies small Version 2.

• Bodies great, bodies small Version 3.

  I did most of this with Corel Photo House, which, at least in my version, is horribly limited. But look at what I seem to be trying to accomplish. I wanted a collage, mixing together the naked lady, upon whom I'd already put a dress, and whom I left in a somewhat ephemeral state by using the spray paint tool to render her. On the first version I included Katie's protest version, though I couldn't get it to where I could read what Katie had written. I added anotehr version of the naked lady, smaller and darker, juxtaposing Katie's and the mud flap versions. And finally, I added Srey Vivo's image from assisted living.

  Lots of themes there. Katie's protester is not obese, but she's not svelte either. The dress on the naked lady could be sexy, or it could be a house dress. What does this evoke about woman's body? What's expected of the different version of the body? How do different versions of the body enter our culture, our jokes, our ideals, our dreams? And what effects do aging and disability or deformity add to the mix?

  Yvette, does this inspire you to poetry? jeanne

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