Jenny Kendler
Spawning III
My work revolves around human beings’ relationship with nature and the natural world — focusing on human sexuality and gender as it relates to our often denied animal origins, and environmental issues such as habitat loss, climate change, and the complexity of ecosystems.
This drawing, Spawning III is part of an ongoing series that investigates the body as it dissolves into nature.
My body of work also relates to the idea of the feminine sublime, which stands in opposition to the traditionally conceived sublime (associated with the masculine), as put forth by Kant. With the traditional sublime, when a viewer encounters something of overwhelming beauty, such an an incredible mountain vista, the self is overwhelmed, and this glimpse into the void is then used to rebuild a heightened sense of personal identity, via the will to power.
However, when encountering natural beauty in the mode of the feminine sublime, the viewer instead accepts the “otherness” of what she encounters, and allows it to enrich her own sense of being, rather than, (to quote Barbara Claire Freedman, one of the originators of the concept of the feminine sublime), using it to maintain “the self’s domination over the object of rapture”. The feminine sublime is not just a more elaborate form of the beautiful (associated with the feminine and generally seen as in opposition to the sublime), but is more like a synergy of the beautiful with the sublime, attaining a new non-gendered view of beauty. It describes a more egalitarian mode of being, and puts forth a more holistic sustainable worldview, where the other (in this case that natural world) is respected for its differences, rather than being seen as something to be owned or conquered.
More of my work can be seen at jennykendler.com
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for posting. It’s interesting to see how many of the artists are engaging with nature. Could you say a little more about the “feminine sublime?”
Thanks,
Susan R.
Susan,
I went back and elaborated a bit more on my ideas in the post, as it’s definitely a complex idea to try to describe in a couple sentences. However, it’s a theory that’s close to the heart of my art practice, and I posted about this idea in particular as I think it relates quite well to the themes of Losing Yourself.
The feminine sublime as I first encountered it is an idea put forth by Barbara Claire Freeman in her book “The Feminine Sublime: Gender and Excess in Women’s Fiction.” However, I have elaborated on her ideas in my own practice, and my art collective, Henbane, uses this idea as a central theme that connects our work. Henbane is working on a site that will be live soon, and at that point, I’ll add a link to this post.
Funny enough, a student just emailed me the other day to ask if I knew anything about the feminine sublime for a paper she’s writing. Thanks for your posting. I can now point her to a source!
The concept seems to have a lot of overlap with Luce Irigaray’s ethics.
How interesting, must be the beginning of a new meme. I’ll check out Luce Irigaray. Thanks for letting me know about her.
This is a beautiful drawing, Jenny. And your post is helpful and descriptive. I love it when you talk about the feminine sublime!
Jenny,
Your drawing is lyric, and your writing adds wonderful depth to the concepts you explore.
Please tell me more. How do you see your work entering the realm of the non-gendered sublime?