An interview with painter Jenny Saville
January 30, 2024 2:59 AM Subscribe
Painting on the floor is good because it takes away your conventional skill and ability to see. The material itself is playing with gravity and I make marks and merge paint with a certain energy. It’s like a way to trap nature; to hold on to a sense of time. When you crash or slide colors together they are forever frozen in that moment. [NSFW]
treblekicker, when I think of it, I try to be pretty liberal with that label to encompass a variety of workplaces, which can sometimes have draconian rules about nudity in art. Schiele has notoriously been considered NSFAnyone by some art and cultural critics. I don’t agree with that assessment, but I’d prefer not to cause any MeFites or visitors problems with their employers.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:49 AM on January 30 [1 favorite]
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:49 AM on January 30 [1 favorite]
Thanks for this interview! It's really good, Saville is one of the modern artists who, in my opinion, can both produce beautiful and startling work and be able to talk about it without sounding pretentious. A rare combination.
posted by jeremias at 6:01 AM on January 30 [2 favorites]
posted by jeremias at 6:01 AM on January 30 [2 favorites]
Why is it marked NSFW? Odd.
This reminds me of when Manic Street Preachers used one of Saville's works for their album Journal For Plague Lovers: various UK supermarkets demanded it be sold under plain covers. There is no nudity or anything, just a very striking image that was apparently shocking to some eyes. (They also previously used her work for one of the greatest albums ever recorded, which is where I first encountered her.)
She's an astonishing artist, and the interview is an interesting read, thank you cupcakeninja!
posted by tomsk at 8:28 AM on January 30 [3 favorites]
This reminds me of when Manic Street Preachers used one of Saville's works for their album Journal For Plague Lovers: various UK supermarkets demanded it be sold under plain covers. There is no nudity or anything, just a very striking image that was apparently shocking to some eyes. (They also previously used her work for one of the greatest albums ever recorded, which is where I first encountered her.)
She's an astonishing artist, and the interview is an interesting read, thank you cupcakeninja!
posted by tomsk at 8:28 AM on January 30 [3 favorites]
I also assumed it would be one of Saville's nudes, Schiele's self portrait didn’t register as a nude.
posted by cedar key at 8:47 AM on January 30
posted by cedar key at 8:47 AM on January 30
Why is it marked NSFW? Odd.
I think it's because, especially the first image (the self portrait) could possibly be experienced as an image of domestic violence. The coloration and technique could be experienced as depicting bruising and signs of beating. As least, that's how I can see someone reading it.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:49 AM on January 30
I think it's because, especially the first image (the self portrait) could possibly be experienced as an image of domestic violence. The coloration and technique could be experienced as depicting bruising and signs of beating. As least, that's how I can see someone reading it.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:49 AM on January 30
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posted by treblekicker at 4:18 AM on January 30 [1 favorite]