The Barbican has been getting a lot of press for their new controversial art display, Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now. When I heard it was an 18 and older event that was too risqué for the American public, I had to check it out. I got a bit turned around when I got off the Tube and laughed to myself thinking about my cousin N asking people on the street for directions. I thought I could ask someone on the street, “Which way to the porn?”
The first exhibit piece is a giant fig leaf that Queen Victoria had commissioned to cover the privates of her cast of Michelangelo’s David. It then moved through very explicit and ancient sculptures, pottery, and pictures from every culture.
The most interesting thing about the exhibit is that these explicit forms of art were hidden by either the reigning government or the church to protect women, children and the lower classes that could be corrupted by what they saw. Two strikes for me! Would I come out of this exhibit okay???
Another fun fact is that the biggest collections of erotic art were hidden away in London, Naples, and…Bloomington, Indiana. Yes, because of Dr. Kinsey’s research, the University of Indiana has quite a collection. Funny enough as I walked through the display I was wearing my University of Indiana t-shirt as I was looking at some of the pictures from Kinsey’s studies.
There was a beautiful slide show at the end of the exhibit by Nan Goldin which captured the lives of a number of different couples. Some of the pictures were explicit, but some were just everyday life, making the subjects seem multi-dimensional.
The first exhibit piece is a giant fig leaf that Queen Victoria had commissioned to cover the privates of her cast of Michelangelo’s David. It then moved through very explicit and ancient sculptures, pottery, and pictures from every culture.
The most interesting thing about the exhibit is that these explicit forms of art were hidden by either the reigning government or the church to protect women, children and the lower classes that could be corrupted by what they saw. Two strikes for me! Would I come out of this exhibit okay???
Another fun fact is that the biggest collections of erotic art were hidden away in London, Naples, and…Bloomington, Indiana. Yes, because of Dr. Kinsey’s research, the University of Indiana has quite a collection. Funny enough as I walked through the display I was wearing my University of Indiana t-shirt as I was looking at some of the pictures from Kinsey’s studies.
There was a beautiful slide show at the end of the exhibit by Nan Goldin which captured the lives of a number of different couples. Some of the pictures were explicit, but some were just everyday life, making the subjects seem multi-dimensional.
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