Das Groteske bei Jenny Saville
I dedicated my Diplom thesis to the motif of the grotesque in the works of the painter Jenny Saville. In her work, she engages with the problematics of the aesthetic representation of the female body in Western-centred art history. She scrutinises the conventions of beauty, particularly a cultural dislike of the corpulent, and addresses this through the tradition of the female nude. During the course of my research of Jenny Saville’s work and my attempt to find a possible aesthetic category to describe her body representation, I encountered the theory of Mikhail Bakhtin. He creates a concept of the grotesque and the classical body. The grotesque body is defined through exaggeration, excess, and abundance – and through an ambivalence of positive and negative elements that it carries within itself. In this respect, it represents an alternative to the classical body, which Bakhtin describes as firmly closed with a smooth surface. The grotesque can be understood as a form of protest against a normative image of the body, but also against institutions and mechanisms that generate them.
Grotesque Transformation
In my practical Diplom work I examine western-oriented ideals of beauty. To this end, I am investigating the sheet mask. This product is placed on the face and, according to the product description, it then apparently both moisturises the facial skin through its different serums and acts against skin ageing.
When the cloth mask is applied, it appears as though a bond has been form between the person and the product and a chimera-like being has come into being. With the cloth mask on, human features become concealed and what lies beneath the skin seemingly emerges: the white cloth with its open areas at the mouth, nose, and eyes is evocative of a skull. This appearance provides a grotesque impression of life and death at the same time, which stands in stark contrast to the product’s promise of rejuvenation. This moment of transformation exposes the product for what it is and, in my opinion, the entire construct of a delusional youth cult. It has subversive potential.
