Jenny Saville's Brace

Jenny Saville's Brace

Saville, Jenny. Brace.1998-9. Oil on canvas. 119" x 71.5"

 Jenny Saville (England b. 1970) is a contemporary British painter, often known as one of the “Young British Artists (YBA)” Although her work is often compared to that of Lucien Freud, Saville states that she owes a greater debt to Abstract Expressionist, Willem de Kooning and figure painter of the 50’s and 60’s, Francis Bacon*. Saville’s work is viewed by some commentators as questioning assumptions about contemporary beauty by depicting bodies that are not at all beautiful by contemporary standards**. The bodies she depicts are often painted on enormous canvases, reaching ten to twelve feet in height and featuring distorted, fleshy, naked female bodies.

 Saville’s work is a perfect example of the different archetypal themes in the work of Carl G. Jung.    Her work deals mostly with the darker side of society and sometimes even confusion of identity within her subjects. Saville’s pieces are massive, standing high above the viewer, forcing the audience to confront their controversial and sometimes grotesque content looming ten feet or higher above viewers heads. In addition to Saville’s huge canvasses is a surprising combination of color, a speckled arrangement of mauves, browns and blues that seem to enhance the sense of “flesh.” Interestingly, while the huge canvasses create a sense of standing back, the color and brushstrokes appear to encourage the viewer the step closer. As with the content of Saville’s paintings, this “push-pull” feeling illustrates the allure and tension in her work. These next few posts on this blog will deal with her work. 

 

 Among Jung’s archetypes, Saville appears to explore the animus/anima archetype(male or female side of the opposite gender's sex. None of us are purely male or female) with greatest depth. Brace represents a good illustration of the animus/anima dilemma. This piece contains the makings of a nightmare: a grotesque looking model with barely any arms, appears to be stitched together to the torso of a woman growing out of their side like a tumor.  This individual, while exhibiting some female qualities, (i.e. the slight indication of breasts), has a largely androgynous feel. This combination of both the male and female figures is a direct correlation to the animus and anima. In this case, the anima, the female side of the male psyche is literally attached almost as a burden to this apparently masculine person. It also highlights the Jungian dilemma as to what weight male/females characteristics are embodied in an individual personality.

 *John, Elton. "Jenny Saville." Interview 33.9 (2003): 168. MasterFILE Premier.

Web. 19 Nov. 2011.

 ** Meagher, Michelle. "Jenny Saville And A Feminist Aesthetics Of Disgust." Hypatia 18.4

     (2003): 23-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2011.