Jenny Saville
“Reverse”
Big Idea/Subject: Individual Identity
Major Theme: Portrait
Medium/Presentation: Oil on canvas
Visual Components: Form, movement, color, scale
Charlotte Rollman first introduced me to Jenny Saville’s work in my painting class last semester. I was instantly raptured with her expressive use of color and brushstrokes. I also love that Saville tends to depict portraits that are grotesquely exaggerated and seemingly very raw. In her portraits, the figures are often seen with certain morbidity and discontent with life in the ways they are positioned, objectified, and practically martyred for their humanity. The piece above is a groundbreaking self-portrait that Saville created experimenting with color palettes and expressive mark making. It seems as if this woman is exhausted and weary, lying down with such weight because she couldn’t possibly do anything else but collapse. Magnified in an atypical position, along with her color choices, she likens herself to a piece of meat also. In these ways, she is completely vulnerable and objectified. Although her works are not ‘realistic’ they are exaggerated in a way that makes the viewer question preconceived notions of reality and therefore elevates itself to realistic and raw. Saville challenges the traditional ideas surrounding femininity and perfection. Even as a petite, slender woman, she depicts herself in unusual grotesque positions (in other pieces) that make the viewer self-conscious for her. I believe this artist’s work is meant to make viewers question preconceived realities in their own lives and to make uncomfortable statements about self image and the effects of scrutiny on human life.
Although most of her paintings are unsuitable for school situations, there are handfuls that are still appropriate such as Reverse. Jenny Saville would be an excellent artist to use to introduce mark making techniques and foreshortening/distorted perspective techniques. In many of her pieces, the human body is portrayed in away that in never thought of as pleasing. For classroom integration, I would use both of these techniques, just in a more suitable way for students. Intended for high school students, they would create an unconventional self-portrait pencil drawing. Examples of portraits that would be construed as unconventional include close-ups, cropping of body positions, or unusual body positions. Then, based on those drawings, students would create an expressive painting using the intentional brushstroke techniques of Saville as well as a varied color palette to create exaggerated self-portraits.
Sources used: http://www.representart.com/mirror-mirror-jenny-savilles-striking-self-portraiture/, http://artsy.net/artist/jenny-saville, http://www.artesmagazine.com/2010/02/contemporary-art-strives-for-something-other-than-beauty/
Sarah Kedzior 