Sexual love has been tirelessly studied and discussed across
all of the humanities and practically every other academic discipline. Given
its all-pervasive role in our every day lives, it makes perfect sense that
throughout art history and even before artists were called artists, images of
sex and all its sister and brother emotions, have dominated the visual
lexicon.
In modern times, the word erotica, stemming from the Greek
god of Love, Eros, was ascribed to literature and art dealing with sexual love.
Portrayed both explicitly and abstractly, all facets of Eros- passion, lust,
agony, ecstasy, obsession and desire continue to be crucial impulses behind the
creation of artwork.
The history of Erotica is multi-faceted and variable, and
any thorough exploration into the topic must begin with ancient tribes and
civilizations of Asia, Greece and Rome, continue into medieval Asia, Europe,
and the Americas, Classical and Modern Europe, and finally into all
contemporary societies. The
intent and purposes of sexually themed images throughout history and across
cultures have ranged from entertaining and amusing royalty and aristocrats, to
instructions on attaining orgasm and enlightenment, to auto-biographical tales
and fantasies, to political and social commentary. Importantly, in the history and art history of Europe and
America, as trends in society-– democracy, civil rights, feminism,
multi-culturalism-- have shifted, so too have trends in sexuality and Erotica.
Why is erotica so universally enthralling?
A sense of mystery and fantasy is stirred in truly erotic
(vs pornographic) images. In front of an erotic image, the viewer is seduced
and then invited to imagine the moment, or scene, that might follow. The moment
in which two lovers can no longer resist each-other, the moment in which fleshy
thighs, buttox and breasts become a writhing landscape of divine creation, the
moment in which we feel our innate power ignite, our complicated thoughts
subside--the moment we give into the universe, our lover and ourselves.
Because the figures characters and symbols of erotic art are
most often portrayed in that moment that we all desire and fantasize about, perhaps Erotica allows us to dip in, to meditate on the fantasy of simply letting go,
of acceptance of what is, without having to consider the potential
complications that may arise afterward. Fortunately for these figures, they are
fixed in moments of pre-ecstasy or orgasm, never having to confront the other
side.
The artists and artwork chosen for molten
illustrate this notion that Erotica, in its true form as artwork that quietly
arouses-- that leaves space in which our imagination can cavort--appeals to
most adult viewers, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation and sexual
identity. Some of the artists unapologetically examine and reveal
psychological and physical complexities as well as unpleasant moments that
often accompany or arise from sex and love: obsession, addiction, fantasy and shame. Similarly, many of the artists confront
the timeless and often taboo relationship between pornography and art, probing
the human tendency to straddle the line between acceptable and taboo sexual
behavior, desire and imagery. Other artists in the exhibit more traditionally
depict and celebrate the aroused and erotic human form. All of the artists freely explore their
own relationship to erotica in the larger context of their artwork and the art
world.
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