by Amy Spangler
March 01, 2010

The day will come when U.S. mothers can truly feel safe breastfeeding their babies and young children anywhere, anytime, anyplace. I likely won’t live long enough to see the culmination of the cultural transformation that is currently underway in America, but I am confident that my children will one day view breastfeeding not as best, optimal, perfect, or ideal, but simply as normal. And I know that ultimately their children, my grandchildren, will reap the benefits.

While many find the slow pace of change frustrating, age confers a level of patience and confidence in knowing that measured, thoughtful change is more often lasting.

How we view breastfeeding was the subject of “Nurture,” a solo exhibition by New York- and New Hampshire-based artist Amy Jenkins, held January 9–February 28, 2010 at the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA) in Athens, Georgia. As compelling as the exhibit, is an accompanying essay by baby gooroo contributor Mary Jessica Hammes.

Hammes explores attitudes toward non-sexual nudity, artistic censorship, competing business interests, and the health benefits of breastfeeding.

“Nurture,” says Hammes, explores “the different meanings of what it means to nurture a child, to raise a human being, starting with the simple act of feeding one.”

But Hammes’ essay, like Jenkins’ images is about so much more than nutrition.

“In Jenkins’ images, breastfeeding begins to mean something deeper—something that links us to those hunter-gatherers of long ago, something that sustains modern families as we navigate contemporary parenting. At the very least “Nurture” makes breastfeeding visible. And if visibility makes something feel normal and therefore more accepted by our culture, then exhibits like “Nurture” could make a big difference in what goes into the mouths of babes.”

I hope Hammes is right. Time is running short.