Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang
Immaculate Conception book cover
Author and musician (and artist) Ling Ling Huang
Big thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for allowing me to preview the best novel of the year I’ve read so far, Ling Ling Huang’s Immaculate Conception. Wow! I absolutely loved this book. I read Natural Beauty about 2 years ago, and I really enjoyed Huang’s sharp social satire and criticism of beauty standards and wellness culture in a kind of body horror novel. It was definitely not what I anticipated, but it was a fun and exciting read that offered some humorous and insightful social commentary; plus, the book predated The Substance, which also dealt with similar anxieties about appearance and identity in a culture and media that is obsessed with certain, unrealistic beauty standards. Although reading the synopsis for Immaculate Conception made me realize that this book might not be the same kind of body horror that was represented in Natural Beauty, I was still excited to read this book. Immaculate Conception shares thematic similarities with Natural Beauty, and Huang also effectively employs a kind of subtle satire to critique and question art and commerce, so the critique is still biting, but there is more ambiguity and questions since it is not as explicit and blatant as the criticism in Natural Beauty. While Immaculate Conception is not a horror story in the way that Natural Beauty is, this book is somewhat fantastical and more like a kind of science fiction. I felt like there were elements that were so fitting for the ways in which we rely on and seek out technology as a remedy and panacea for everything, from our boredom and identities to creativity. With all of the uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence and how it may be used (or misused) for creative purposes, Immaculate Conception interrogates some of the issues and explores the ambiguities about art, creativity, and intellectual ownership. I’m still wrestling with many of the scenarios and issues that were raised in this book, beyond technology and focusing more on creativity, art, and commerce, and what each of these means in the digital age where there is less human hand and more machine learning in products, whether it is music, reading materials, or visual depictions. I’m so glad that Huang wrote this book now, and that the characters, mostly Enka and Mathilde, but also Logan and the Dahl Corp., allow readers to examine the moral and intellectual ambiguities of the creative process and art, and how art is informed by our own personal experiences and identities.
Although this is a novel of ideas, it’s also a great story of friendship and jealousy, one that I didn’t initially realize until towards the end of the novel and then revisiting at the dedication “for the jealous”. The story revolves around two young artists, Enka and Mathilde, who are enrolled in the Berkshire College of Art and Design (BCAD). Enka narrates the story and immediately identifies Mathilde as someone who is incredibly gifted, with rumors swiriing around about her artistic experiences, internships with more established artists and possibly contributing to other famous artistic collectives, even before stepping foot on Campus. Enka, on the other hand, is one of the “non-enclave”, a possible socio-economic division that has arisen in society in which families like Enka’s have fewer resources and opportunities. Enka regularly notes that her peers in BCAD all probably had more access to art and supplies as “enclave” students, and therefore art, experience, and ideas all come to them much easier. I was a little unclear about what the distinction between the enclave and non-enclave was, but it seemed to have arisen because of Richard Dahl and his work with the Dahl Corp. I appreciated that the distinction was somewhat ambiguous and mysterious, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about what this meant for a student like Enka, and how her limited experiences and access to resources would affect her ability to study, create, and engage in the artistic process in a school like BCAD. If anything, it allows Huang to focus more on the story and characters, and especially establishing the strong bond that Enka formed with Mathilde as Mathilde created more engaging and elaborate art projects based on her life experiences. Enka finds Mathilde one day in the bathroom, drained of blood, used for her art. She helps Mathilde, bringing her to the studio and checks in on her frequently, gradually bringing Mathilde back to reality and not allowing her to dive too deep into the artistic abyss. Enka’s gesture of placing her palm on the window serves as a personal connection when Mathilde seems both consumed by the artistic process but also consumed the loneliness and sadness that seem to compel her to work and that pervade her artistic output. This gesture and interaction, means different things to each woman, but it is something that bonds them throughout the later events in the story.
As Enka and Mathilde develop their friendship, Enka realizes the power of Mathilde’s creativity and how Mathilde is able to harness the tragedies and trauma in her life to make meaningful art that engages and enthralls audiences. In one piece, Mathilde re-creates her father’s last moments, using a voicemail message to repeat his final words. Mathilde’s father was on one of the flights that crashed on 9/11, and died when Mathilde was younger. However, Enka sees the reaction and while feeling sympathetic for Mathilde, also wishes that her art could move people in the same manner. While Enka works with technology and art, finding ways to “expose technology’s limited ability for representation,” Mathilde seems more interested in developing experiences—that is looking at the ways that art can be a fleeting experience that is only remembered, but never preserved. She thinks more about installation pieces, and how people can interact with art, not just examine and observe. I loved the artistic ideas that Huang presents here, and I am always amazed when writers or directors develop these kind of artistic projects that are not real but seem so real. Otessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation had some hilarious art projects that were hilarious critiques, but also had the patina of reality, which made the critique even more enjoyable. Similarly Huang develops some realistic projects, and I even thought Enka’s project of having the technology of her childhood connected to fake umbilical cords was an interesting concept. Apparently, Mathilde did too, since she later represented birth and umbilical cords in a later art project, something that Enka notices as well that leads to some feelings of jealousy and resentment from Enka. She not only begins to feel jealous, but her sense of being an imposter at the school becomes heightened. To me, Enka seemed like someone who was struggling with imposter syndrome, constantly unsure of her place in the school, questioning whether her work was good enough. Like the narrator in Natural Beauty, Enka questions her identity and whether she made the right choice as an artist. I supposed that this is something that probably all artists experience—I’m almost certain that most college students probably experience this kind of feeling of whether they made the correct choice or not. We also know that minorities and first generation college students also experience the imposter syndrome acutely, to the point where it may even affect their grades or emotional well-being. As I was reading about Enka struggling with her identity and place in the school, I kept thinking about the imposter syndrome and how defeating and challenging it can be, especially when one may perceive their peers achieving and doing more than they ever could. However, Enka seems to also be driven by jealousy and resentment, especially in regards to Mathilde’s increasing stature in the art world. While Enka is amazed at Mathilde’s achievements, she ends up using their relationship as a lever which she can control Mathilde’s access to her. I won’t get into the details about how their relationships change over the course of the novel, but I can see a different side of Enka after finishing the novel.
In addition to art, Enka pursues an opportunity with the Dahl Corporation, a mysterious mega-conglomerate that has had projects involving cloning and control of the internet. It also seems like the Dahl Corp. had something to do with creating the Enclave and Non-Enclave distinction. As Enka feels more and more desperate about her future in art, she sees an experimental study with Project Scaffold, a new experimental treatment for trauma from Logan Dahl, the son of Richard Dahl, the CEO of Dahl Corp. Project Scaffold seeks to build a kind of wireless neural emotional support from one person to another—developing a kind of psychic empathy, where one person can take on another’s trauma. Logan likens this to sucking the venom from a snakebite, where someone might experience a lesser degree of pain or venom, but they are doing so to help another person out. Doubting her abilities to be an artist, Enka sees this as a possible pathway to more creativity and pain, seemingly trying to plumb the depths of artistic trauma, just not her own, to find inspiration to making art. Yet, as a student at BCAD, a school that the Dahl Corp sponsors scholarships, Enka is deemed a conflict of interest, yet Logan Dahl takes an interest in her and hires her on as the Dahl artist in residence. Enka’s proximity to Logan, like her proximity to Mathilde, brings her more experiences and access to art, but not any true artistic inspiration. Eventually Logan proposes, and Enka agrees. I also loved these sections that describe her wedding planning and eventual motherhood. Logan’s mother becomes incredibly involved, making decisions about the wedding for Enka and Logan, but Enka also mentioned that “wedding planning, it turned out, was a wonderful way to distract myself from the disappointments in my life”. I never thought about it that way, and I hope my wife didn’t either, but I can see how some people may view wedding planning in this way. From Enka’s perspective, the wedding kept her away from the pressures of being an artist and focused her attention on other areas, even though her choices were largely bound by her mother-in-law’s preferences. Similarly, Enka’s descriptions about the challenges of motherhood and the kinds of doubts and questions Monika raises were all something I felt when my kids were born. It’s this kind of creative act where I felt so inadequate and unsure, and any kind of advice or offers of help I sometimes questioned whether they were intended well or not. Even with the privilege that marriage to Logan brings, Enka still remains jealous and resentful, although not overtly. She seems to keep it inside, but still uses her relationship and access to Mathilde as a kind of lever she can press to make Mathilde feel more lonely.
Again, I don’t want to get into more specifics, but so many of the ideas surrounding art, originality, families, marriage, and technology are all so relevant to events and discussions that are happening today. For example, Enka has children, twins boys, but other characters struggle with fertility, while another character seeks out artificial insemination. Given the rise of pro-natalists in the government and how there is a focus on the declining birthrate, it was interesting to read about these issues and how some of the characters were obsessed with lineage and inheritance. It also relates to the art projects, as it seems like Enka is seeking out the kind of recognition and acclaim from artists who have developed staying power, while Mathilde creates these kind of impermanent experiences of art installations that are more about interaction and engagement, and taking away memories. Similarly, we learn that Richard Dahl has a collection of rare medieval paintings of saints, but he only likes to keep them in a slight state of decay where the colors are beginning to fade to certain hues. I want to revisit this book to learn more about the connection between art and lineage, between these creative acts, and how they relate to who actually owns the art and why it was created. Furthermore, right before Enka drops out of BCAD, a new kind of AI program is developed that can create any kind of art, basically putting artists out of business. Artists are sued if they are found to copy anything in this Stochastic Archive. Enka finds that someone has created an umbilical art installation just like hers, and without the resources to fight a lawsuit, she decides to give up her art. Her classmates, who also have creative, unique art projects, try to come up with interesting alternatives, only to find themselves out of work and original ideas. I thought this was also a powerful question about the nature of art in the age of AI, and what constitutes originality. Since AI are digesting publicly available works online, should artists and others contributing to its massive corpus receive compensation for their works? Or will artists and other creative types continue to lose out while technology receives corporate funding? Furthermore, to receive funding for her projects, Mathilde develops a foundation, and although they fund her art projects, they also seem to take an incredible amount of responsibility for her well-being, even requiring her to live in certain places or receive specialized medical and mental health treatments. Their interest in Mathilde is not necessarily about her wellbeing, but rather her commodification and the ability to profit from her artwork, as we later learn about the commercialization of her art exhibits, where visitors can seemingly exit by the giftshop. Huang’s story and the events in this novel bring up questions about the nature of art—whether it is funding for art or who owns art. Even questions about what is the purpose of art—is it something that is a personal expression? Is it catharsis? Should art involve social commentary? I loved how she subtly imbues the narrative with these questions by creating these interesting art projects that make readers question the nature of art and creativity, and how technology may be helping or hindering this process (and its products). There’s so much to question and sort through, and Huang presents these ideas and ambiguities with such an engaging and creative story that is relative to so many people. Once I got into the second and third parts of the book (Middle Style and Late Style), I couldn’t stop reading it. I highly recommend this book since it was the best novel I’ve read this year. It’s an important book, that is not only full of ideas and questions about art, culture, society, friendship and altruism, but also told in such a compelling, engaging, and creative way. Highly, highly recommended book!
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