Feminist Perspectives on Materials and Making in Leonora Carrington’s Esoteric Art Practice

Summary

Art history's conventional separation of material from meaning and its focus on form and image alone cannot adequately account for the work of Leonora Carrington and other women artists working at the intersection of art and esotericism. Examining two case studies from Carrington's esoteric practice—one concerning materials and one concerning making—shows that moving beyond hierarchical dualistic thinking is necessary to understand the role materials played in the meaning and magical function of her works. Her painting process functioned as an epistemological practice that drew on esoteric principles and expanded Surrealist notions of the marvellous by attending to the non-human in materials.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article proposes that approaching the work and practice of the British-born Mexican artist Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) and other women working at the intersection of art and esotericism necessitates revisiting some fundamental assumptions and approaches of the discipline of art history, namely the separation of material from meaning and the complete transmutation of the material into “pure” form and image. At the example of two case studies drawn from Carrington’s esoteric art practice related to materials and making, it argues that only by going beyond hierarchical dualistic thinking can we understand the role Carrington’s materials played in the meaning and magical function of her works, and comprehend her painting process as an epistemological practice, which drew on esoteric principles and expanded notions of the Surrealist marvellous through attention to the non-human in the form of materials.

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