Amy Jenkins

Amy Jenkins is a New York and New Hampshire based artist whose work has been exhibited, screened, and published internationally. Her work includes art installations that combine video, sculpture, performance, writing, and audio to create immersive experiences. Her work is very personal, the topics ranging from familial relationships, home, sexuality, and the male/female identity. Because of the range of topics she explores, she considers herself a feminist filmmaker, so who better for a younger aspiring filmmaker to ask about the relationship between film making and feminism?

Grisel Morales: First off, how did you begin to work in film specifically? And after you knew what you wanted to do, was there a single moment when you knew you wanted your filmmaking to be focused on feminist topics/issues?

Amy Jenkins: My background as an artist is photography, but I became drawn to time-based media because I enjoy shaping an evolving narrative. I have never specifically tried to focus on feminist topics, however I work from what I know and from what I experience as a woman, which naturally falls within a feminist agenda.

GM: That's very true, it would be hard to separate the two. Are there some feminism related topics you feel you can’t personally speak on? If so, how do you work to help amplify the voices of those who can speak on those topics?

AJ: Creativity springs from the artist’s intuitive as well as purposeful processes. It is not necessarily the artist’s job to amplify the voices of others. Once an artwork is made, it is not in the artist’s control whether the public finds inspiration in the artist’s creation, however that may be one of their goals.

GM: How do you feel the public perception of feminism has changed since you began making films?

AJ: I don’t spend much time contemplating the public’s perception, otherwise I wouldn’t make the kind of artwork that I make. (Some in the general public may consider the topics of my artwork risky. This does not concern me.)

GM: Do you feel the way feminist films are perceived within the artistic community has changed? How has that influenced your work as the years have gone by?

AJ: To reiterate: The public’s perception has very little influence on the decisions I make as an artist.

GM: Are there any feminist topics you feel cannot be addressed through the medium of film?

AJ: Absolutely not.

GM: Do you have any major artistic or political influences? More specifically, what feminist filmmakers do you think are creating work that needs to be talked about more?

AJ: I applaud all artistic efforts, but I often turn to musicians for inspiration, including Patti Smith and Jane Siberry, both of whom are also writers.

RE work that needs more attention: In particular I would like to see more films written and directed by women in the mainstream. Having more women’s voices in popular cinema would more honestly reflect our values and would more evenly shape our cultural awareness.

GM: Is most of your work inspired by personal experiences? Is there generally a way that you know what personal topics can/cannot be addressed through film?

AJ: All of my work is inspired by my experience. I believe there is no limit on what topics could be addressed through Film. Film has the ability to mirror life.

GM: For topics that aren’t inspired by personal experience, how do you as an artist and as a person with whatever privileges you might have know what the boundaries are when you’re speaking on something you don’t have first hand experiences with?

AJ: I don’t believe in boundaries when it comes to creativity.

GM: Can you talk about the first time you combined video, audio, sculpture, and performance? What were some of the reasons you decided these mediums were appropriate/necessary for the work you were producing?

AJ: I enjoy sculpture, video, sound and performance in combination because they create an opportunity that is physical. The viewer is able to approach the artwork and decide how they want to interact with and received it. The physical relationship between viewer and the sculptural object is part of the experience, yet my work is also time based-- a story evolves through the video accompanied by the audio. The cinema in three-dimensions becomes all-encompassing.

GM: Are there any topics you have ever felt were too personal to explore in your work that maybe you eventually did get around to exploring? What was that process like? Are there still things you wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing in your work? How do you personally know what your boundaries are at any point during your process?

AJ: I make artwork from my life experience; I never think about boundaries. Why contemplate limits?

GM: How do you think you will know when your body of artistic work feels complete and will be able to continue to stand on its own after you retire from film making?

I’m an artist— I will never retire.

Amy Jenkins' website: www.amyjenkins.net

Amy Jenkins' vimeo: www.vimeo.com/akj