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THE ART AND SEX PAIRING

As an expression of contemporary art, even today, the pairing of art and sex continues to be surrounded by taboos. What is “shocking” and “perverted” to some is not to others; what is erotic in one era may be considered mere banality in another. Undeniably, concepts change. And, in the present, new ways of being and existing in the world demand artistic proposals that speak about bodies, desires, and pleasures.

As historical and social agents, artists represent bodies based on what they see, feel, know, and believe. The body, historically viewed as a theme, becomes a medium and material for poetic creation. This gives rise to diverse bodily practices, sexual impulses, transgressions, and carnalities. Free bodies and sexualities endowed with pluriversal dimensions are thus exposed.

In line with this current artistic trend, the third edition of the Vórtice Festival, curated by artists Leonardo Maciel and Paulo Cibella, showcases the work of 100 Brazilian artists who explore the pairing of art and sex. These creators break through the wall of silence built by a hypocritical society, employing a libidinous grammar and seeking the fusion of body, sexual discourse, and gender issues in their artistic practices.

Alongside exhibition and circulation, the Festival sparks debate within the art world: what are the limits of this production? Prudish critics commonly try to categorize these works as either erotic or pornographic — and here, regarding pornography, there is strong resistance to the idea of its interaction with art.

The term pornography (from the Greek “pornôs” = prostitute and “graphô” = to write and record) refers to the pictorial genre that depicted prostitutes. Intolerance towards pornographic works became more pronounced from the Renaissance, in the 17th century, with the Protestant Reformation. The term erotic, on the other hand, is derived from Eros (in Greco-Roman mythology, the god of love). The concept of “Eros” has also been used in philosophy and psychology in a broader sense, almost as the equivalent of “life energy.”

Progressively, pornography came to denote any representation of an “obscene,” vulgar, or abject thing. Simultaneously, eroticism and erotic emerge as references to representations of the body in an elevated (or intellectual) sense. But why restrict artistic expressions to being either erotic or pornographic? What values are at play in this distinction? If contemporary art is against the obvious and defies classification, it can be pornographic and erotic (or neither). In truth, it should speak to what is human.

The process of deep discussion about the pairing of art and sex, about pornography, and consequently, about the erotic and eroticism, indicates a significant shift in society, forcing it to re-examine a history of censorship and silencing. The works exhibited here can be considered poetics of the body and sexual licenses that together orchestrate a vigorous critique of the status quo. Ultimately, art reveals sex as it is — something vital. And, therefore, dangerous.

ALECSANDRA MATIAS

PhD in Visual Arts (ECA-USP). Postdoctoral fellow in Visual Arts (UNESP). Independent curator. Professor at CELACC (ECA-USP). Researcher at the Mario Schenberg Center for Documentation and Research in Arts (ECA-USP). Specialist in University Cooperation and Outreach at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC-USP). Member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). Columnist for Jornal da USP, editor of Revista Arte & Crítica, and contributor to DasArtes. Author of the books Schenberg: Crítica e Criação (EDUSP, 2011) and Memória da Resistência (MCSP, 2022).

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