Introduction
Women throughout history have to a great extent been regarded
as a commodity. Whether that’s as a homemaker, child bearer, or as an object of
desire for men. In the early nineteen-hundreds however, came the first wave of
feminism, which aimed to establish equality between men and women. While this has
been addressed in political and social respects, in the media and art industry the
injustice still remains to this day. Women continue to be depicted as objects
of beauty of desire, pressurising women to appear and act in a certain way to
fulfill societies implicit expectations of them.
Jenny Saville is one individual who has dedicated her
work to fight against this injustice. Through her colossal paintings of nude
women, she “reduces them to their anatomical minimum” (Mey, 2007) to portray
the ugly truth of how women are forced to feel objectified within our society.
In her painting Fulcrum, Saville
explores the themes of modern beauty, relationships and social stigmas which
women are subjugated to. Saville invites us to look at women and take a stance
on human equality. By encouraging the viewer to reflect on the truth of what it
is to be truly female, compared to how society expectations of women.
Classical
Idea of Beauty
Saville’s unique way of visualising her models, is a
reaction to the pressure modern society puts on women to fulfill the unwritten
criteria of beauty. She makes tangible the feeling of inadequacy that this
burden of beauty puts on women. Kutzbach and Mueller (2007) support this notion
by suggesting that Saville “represents the female nude in a grotesque way”, by
“breaking the rules” of the “cultural fantasy of what the female body should
be” (Pollok, G. 1996 p.88). In an interview with The Independent (1994) Saville
explains this she is “not painting disgusting,
big women. I'm painting women who've been made to think they're big and
disgusting, who imagine their thighs go on for ever”. Having used herself as a
model for the majority of her painting, Saville emphasises how this issue is
not only relevant to viewers, but also personally relevant to her.
Obsession with perfection is not a modern concept, as its
evident clearly in the 16th century when Albrecht
Dürer believed
that he could create the “ideal nude” (Berger 2008). He did so by constructing
one woman out of a variety of other women’s best assets - thus creating the
perfect woman to “glorify man” (Berger 2008). This very notion of ‘creation’
highlights how impossible it is to acquire this unachievable level of “ideal”
set by men. This notion of combining various
desirable parts of a women is ironically evident in Saville’s work Fulcrum. Brand (2012) describes
“dangling limbs [of the] three figures piled on the gurney” with “infantile,
somnolent gestures” which manifests the figures into an amalgamation of one
combined “eruption of flesh” (Mey 2007). Saville further constructs this
impression through her painting styles which “disobeys the law of the
sovereignty and separateness of bodies” (Brand 2012). In doing so, Saville forces the
viewer to look beyond the “implicit social agreement”(Kutzbach and Mueller
2007) of what the ideal beauty is. The
figures that Saville has used are not the conventional young slim women who we
are led to believe is our “cultures idea of beauty” (Kutzbach, K and Mueller, M. 2007).
Instead they are a singularly combined “distorted bodyscape” (Mey 2007), which
uncomfortably highlights women’s struggle to achieve this unrealistic notion of
beauty. Saville goes a step further by choosing to bind the bodies tightly
together, so firmly in fact causing distortion of the skin as a result. This
awkwardness created by the bodies is some what difficult to look at. The nude
“figures who are compelled to touch” further emphasises the belief that women
don’t have a choice not to adhere to this social stigma of beauty, instead it
is unwittingly thrust upon them.
Objectification
of Women
Saville’s use of bold, energetic brush strokes, with juxtaposing
cold greys next to fiery reds, brings the models to a life beyond just purely their
exterior appearance. The viewer is able to see the essence of these women –
feel the energy of blood pumping around the body, which has been evoked by this
invigorating painting style. Contrastingly though, in Fuclrum, Saville has used this painting lively style fo painting the
bodies that are instead “piled together” on the gurney as if lifelessly, just
merely depicting “generations of flesh touching one another” (Brand 2012
p.150). This is an interesting parallel within Saville’s work, as although her
painting is depicting a sincere representation of female nudes, she however
paints female flesh with the “sense that
things are leaking out.”(Davis, H. The Independent). In this interview Saville goes on to describe her use of cold
blue in her representation of human flesh to have similarities to “butcher's
meat”. Even though Saville alludes to having the intension of not objectifying
women - by placing the figures without the context of a background, and in such
an anthropoidal fashion she
contradicts herself. Instead, she bravely lays out these women as objects of mere
flesh to be observed by critical eyes. In John Berger’s documentary Ways of Seeing (1972), he explores the difference between
nude and naked - ‘Naked’ as being “ones self”, and ‘Nude’ being how we are
“perceived” by others. He goes on further to question whether to be truly
‘Nude’ is only achievable if one is seen as an “object”. Saville’s use of body
language and colour in Fulcrum and in
various other works reiterate Berger’s observations of women’s objectification
in art and society.
Oedipus complex
The group of
women in Fulcrum, consist of Saville
(aged 29) laid in a semi fetal position at the top, Fiona (aged 30) in the
center, and Fiona’s mother Sadie (aged 60) compacted at the bottom. This
pyramid of bodies is not only uncomfortable in terms of the position that the women are
bound in, but also the relationships between the women are taken into
consideration. Freud’s Oedipus complex theory
delves into the idea that offspring have an innate “sexual desire for the
parent of the opposite sex, and a desire for the death of the rival” (Pollok,
G. 1996). Having the daughter lying lifeless on top and intertwined with that of
the lifeless body of the mother, Saville in some way supports this theory.
However by depicting both women as defeated and thus arguably therefore equal –
Saville also interrogates the Freudian theory, by suggesting that by conquering
the mother, the child is also defeated. In Freud’s conclusions of his essay “Female
sexuality” (1949), he references Jeanne Lampl-de Groot (1927) who suggests that
when girls “entering into the Oedipus situation […] she wants to conquer the
mother for herself and get rid of the father”. In Savilles painting this theory
is subtly evident, through the middle figure (Daughter Fiona) holding her head
covering her ears and holding her eyes closed. This could signify Fiona’s
innate need to subjugate her mother’s presence and her defensive reactions to
the consequences. Constrastingly the bottom figure (Sadie the mother) has her
eyes open and has her hands placed on her heart, perhaps signifying her sorrow
towards the daughters need to vanquish her.
Another
Freudian theory that Saville explores is women’s Castration complex - “a girls
discovery of the anatomical difference between sexes”(Grigg,
R. Hecq, D. Smith, C, 2015) is introduced in Fulcrum through Saville’s decision to
have the group of the same sex nude, and the choice to use women who have associations
between them. This notion of realisation between the physical difference of men
and women in Savilles painting, alludes back to the idea of inequality of men
and women. Once comprehending that one is a woman, it should come naturally to
adopt societies assumption that women should be devoted to men. Once again
Saville cleverly challenges herself through portraying these women as sexual
objects, in an arguably nonsexual position and situation. Saville’s presence in
Fulcrum is overlooked by Pollock
(1966) when he compares elements of Freud’s theories to the painting, however
her presence in the painting is important as a storyteller. She is the only figure
that is holding eye contacts with the viewer – involving the observer and
presenting them with an opportunity for reflection. This communication of sorts
invites the viewer to explore the relationships both physically and intangibly between
the group of figures themselves, and their connection to our society. Saville
herself acts as a fulcrum of sorts - being at the top thus the point of the
trio of women, and also acting as mediator between the complex relationship of
the other two women. Saville expresses that “Women have usually only taken the role of model. I'm both, artist
and model. I'm also the viewer, so I have three roles.” (The Independent,
1994). This shows how this conscious decision to be involved in multiple
dimensions, allows Saville to influence the viewer and imprint on them the
message she is trying to convey of female objectification.
Obesity and Female Figure
One of the most apparent observations one makes when looking at
Savilles “overwhelming” (Mey 2007) figures – is not only the paintings physical
size, but also the size of the women in the images themselves. Saville expressed
in an interview with The Guardian (2012) how she’s always had a fascination
with flesh. She used to observe her piano teacher at the age of 6, describing
how she was "fascinated by the way her two breasts would become one,
the way her fat moved, the way it hung on the back of her arms."(Cooke
2012). This beguilement with obesity is clearly translated in her “formless”
(Mey 2007) figures in the painting Fulcrum.
The term ‘Obesity’ comes with the association of greed as is expressed by
Korbonits (2008) who believes “the perception of obesity as a self-inflicted condition
creates little sympathy for the obese” (2008). Interestingly though, being
overweight wasn’t always an unattractive quality as pre 20th century
it was in fact considered a “positive association with wealth, success and
physical strength”(Korbonits 2008). Once it became the norm for some sections
of society to obtain food in plentiful amounts, there was a shift in perception
to what was considered the desirable appearance. In the present day, the media
portrays the ‘Ideal’ figure as being slim and toned, so now women must show
restraint in their diet and dedication to a strict exercise regime, to achieve
the figure that is excepted by society.
While the notion of
desirability in conjunction with weight has fluctuated throughout different
eras, the idea of greed has always been consistently one that came with
negative connotations. The main example of this is of course the story of Adam
and Eve. This old testament story states that the innate human reflex to be ashamed
of our naked bodies stems from the greed of a single woman (Eve) who “took the
fruit there off and did eat” (Genesis 3:6, New International version). Berger
suggest however that their “nakedness was created in the mind of the beholder”
(2008) which instead proposes that they did not become aware of their own nudity,
but instead others nudity and thus judged them upon it. Eve is depicted as weak
for succumbing to eating the forbidden fruit before her husband - this suggests
that fundamentally a womans primal instinct is one of greed. Similarly to the
reference of Freud’s theory’s, Saville also eludes to the creation theory in
her work Fulcrum through the very apparent
greed and gluttony of the three “overwhelming” (Mey, 2007) women. But instead
of glorifying the women for their appearance as Marta Korbonits does, Saville
instead highlights the pressure put on women in modern culture. The painting
clearly isn’t an accurate visual representation of this group of women, but
instead a portrayal of the intangible feelings of the women of how they
themselves believe that modern culture perceives them. By placing Fulcrum in a public exhibition space it
shocks the viewer into realising how we as a society observe and judge people,
pushing us to reflect on ourselves and to see the effect it has on others.
Conclusion
Saville’s Fulcrum is ultimately a testimony to influence
viewers to observe women’s role differently within our society - asking us to
question how we perceive and judge others. As demonstrated, Saville’s work is
full of so many contradictions, but the work purposely doesn’t answer all the
questions that it evokes. This makes the viewers instead turn to themselves and
reflect upon there own place within this social structure and how they’ve been
effected by the topics and ideas Fulcrum stimulates.
Saville encourages the viewer to overcome the preconceived idea of nudity, and
how flesh touching flesh doesn’t have to be justified with sexual connotations.
Instead she is portraying the group of women bravely existing without men. While
Freudian theories have to be considered, these women still hold a closeness and
expectance of one another without any need of the gratification of men. Upon
closer inspection of the mother’s mouth, there is a hint of a smirk - could she
be laughing at the folly of man? These woman have pushed past the social
stigmas, and are instead content with themselves as they are and in each others
company. Despite the women being portrayed in a vulnerable position, this
painting has such a powerful presence that viewers are compelled to think about
the injustices that women face. By involving the viewer, Saville shows that its
not one individual that can make a vital change, but instead us as a society
have to question ourselves to comprehend this injustice, and revolutionize it.
Bibliography
Freud, S. (1949) Female Sexuality. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Page 133
FILMS
Ways of Seeing (1972) Documentary Series.
Directed by Mike Dibb. London: BBC
BOOKS
Brand, P Z. (2012) Beauty
Unlimited. Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Berger, J. (2008) Ways
of Seeing. England: Penguin.
Grigg, R.
Hecq, D. Smith, C (2015) Female Sexuality: The Early Psychoanalytic
Controversies. London:
Karnac Books
Kutzbach, K and Mueller, M. (2007) The Abject of Desire : The Aestheticization of the aesthetic in
contemporary literature and culture. Netherlands: Rudopi.
Korbonits, M. (2008) Obesity and Metabolism. Switzerland: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers
Mey, K. (2007) Art
and Obscenity. London: 1.B.Tauis & Co Ltd.
Pollock, G. (1996) Generations
and Geographies in the visual arts. London: Routledge.
Silverman, K. (1988) The Acoustic Mirror. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana
University Press
Online journals
Freud, S. (unknown) Female sexuality
Author(S), Initials(S). (Year) Title of
article. Title of journal [online]. Volume (issue number), (Date
Accessed) page numbers. Available from: URL
ONLINE ARTICLES
