| 1 Room 518 | Sexuality, Desire and Pleasure Thursday, July 14, 2005 Time: 8:30 AM-10:30 AM |
Intimate Relations: Images of Sex.
Wallace, Marina*,1, Albano , Caterina*,1, 1 Artakt at Central St Martins' College of Art and Design, London, England, UK
ABSTRACT- The proposal for our contribution to the International Sex Conference stems from the research on representations of sex carried out for the forthcoming exhibition Intimate Relations: Images of Sex West and East (Hayward Gallery London, Oct 2006). This research has brought to our consideration an extraordinary range of artworks and artefacts that has, in different cultures, shaped the representation of sex, both publicly and privately. By focusing on the relationship between the viewer and the objects and referencing the cultural contexts within which the objects have been historically viewed, collected and displayed, we will explore the function of these images and how our current sex culture reflects and is product of a long tradition of viewing sex. Moving from some the questions that have informed the selection for the exhibition, we will look at the transgressive in images: both as a historically and culturally defined concept and as a psychological dimension. The transgressive image whether a depiction on a Greek vase, a Renaissance painting or an internet image is commonly taken as a documentary account of an actual event or a particular practice, and accordingly interpreted as potentially dangerous. This is mitigated or exacerbated by the category into which an image falls, such as whether it is seen as Art and the degree to which the image is circulated. As with any other image, however, representations of sex also use visual vehicles in which culture and psycho-physiology interact. Also has the way we view sexual images change across time and has this change had an impact in the making and perception of the images themselves? What is the relationship between images and words when it relates to sex? How much do sex images historically and culturally testify to gender determination? Where do we position ourselves towards sex images as active player in their acceptability? When and why do we set the boundaries that an image is acceptable for adult but not for children?−−
Key words: sexual images, acceptability, cultural/psychological functions, historical changes, words/images