‘You'll Need A Cold Shower After You See It’: Sensual & Erotic Art Exhibit at Erotica LA
By: Penn N. Sword
06-15-2004

LOS ANGELES - Promising that you'll need a cold shower after you see it, a 3,000 square foot sensual and erotic art exhibition, Inside/Out: Censored and Self-Censored Art, will feature at Erotica Los Angeles June 18-20.

Now it its fourteenth year, the satellite exhibit from the XART Gallery will be arranged without walls and continues to be both provocative and challenging, Erotica L.A. organizers said June 14. In addition to the exhibit, a series of art talks will be led by the exhibition curator on Friday, June 18 and Saturday. June 19, both at 3:00PM.

Organizers say the exhibit presents a perspective of sex by artists that have either experienced censorship or have never exhibited their work to the public. These artists have returned to the earlier ideal principal of sex, as they assume the right to create a mirror of our society, and to make art whose reality would be independent of society’s taboo. Our visual impressions, coming to the end of its own intimate extreme, is that fuller truth about reality which is known to the human mind in favor of the erotic.

“The popular success of The Sensual & Erotic Art Exhibition fits with our goal to provide an inviting place where people can experience these images personally,” says Inside/Out art director Luis De La Cruz. “This wide variety of original contemporary art helps us understand our own sexuality and cultural evolution, as well as the power and passion of erotic art. And if its shocking, it’s because you relate to it.”

“We are proud to hold such a magnificent and respected annual exhibition at the show,” states Erotica L.A. vice president of marketing and operations Chad Beecher. “This gallery showcased at Erotica L.A. allows more consumers to experience the impact and beauty of sensual and erotic art – and also gives them an opportunity to purchase these original and stunning pieces.”

The exhibition's sponsor is the Lifestyles Organization, which believes firmly that artistic expression in all forms is protected by the Bill of Rights and must not be subject to government control, restriction, or censorship in any manner. Inside/Out: Censored and Self-Censored Art, Lifestyles believes, validates the personal art that is being made.

The exhibit will focus on new art forms including Conceptual, Performance, Digital, Video, Photography and New Media. The fifty artists represented will include Tom Asad, Peter Bodnar, Djuna Blackmon, David Bloksberg, Sandra Chang, Photos by Corwin, Donna Ferrato, Marc Greenblum, Frank G. Hoffman, R.C. Horsch, Justice Howard, Lord Tim Hudson, Nick Karras, Willi Kissmer, Olivia, Tom O’Hara, Moline O’Tucson, Ken Marcus, MeloD, Lea Morales, Geoffrey Nelson, Joe Paradice, Martin Perea, Michael Robles, Alex Sargeant, Woody Smith, Brain Soucy, Karin Swildens, Martin Tellez, Lee Thomas, Tiffany Trenda, Frank Venadas, Robert Watson Jr. and Tony Yazzolino.

And, more than 150 new digital images by Pornotopia.com, plus the world premier of an animated film by Sagemonn & Karyann, will be screened in the gallery. Samples of some of the art works at XARTgallery.com. And, the exhibit will also feature a book signing by Donna Ferrato, author of Love & Lust, published by the Aperture Foundation.

"This exhibition of the most significant developments in Erotic art in America reigns as the longest running continuous survey in America," Erotica L.A. organizers say. "The Annual was recorded historically in the battle against censorship when in 1997, with the assistance of the California ACLU, it was granted a restraining order by a Federal Judge who condemned the censorship action of the California Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

"On March 6, 2000, it was further decided by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of LSO vs. STROH to reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Officials on the grounds of qualified immunity," the organizers continue. "The importance of this decision is the announcement of the continuing vitality of the First Amendment and the rejection of the State’s attempt to weaken personal freedoms through the use of regulations. Additionally, this decision provides a “road map” for future challengers of thinly veiled legislation that is primarily intended to abridge the First Amendment."

In its eighth consecutive year, with over two hundred exhibitors, live stage shows, seminars, 3,000 square foot each art gallery and erotic museum, and ladies' night, Erotica L.A. introduces new products and concepts in erotic entertainment and strive to bring the best entertainment and shopping value to consumers.

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