#1 02-12-20 01:34:27

Piper_A

Member

Registered: 26-03-18

Posts: 83

Art and sex

Hey folks!
I just had a memory pop into my mind that inspired me to start a new thread here - I had forgotten about this entirely until now!
When I was younger, my dad was dating an artist - she had the most amazing, enormous collection of art books. I was always interested in art, ever since I can remember. This woman would always encourage me to go through the books and read them and look at all the pictures. I remember one day finding an Egon Schiele book and it Changed. Me. Forever.
It was the first time I had ever seen any artwork that was at all sexual - there were nude women, there was kissing, there was touching, it was honestly mindblowing to me. I used to take stacks of art books to my bedroom in her house and tell them I was "going to my room to read some books" and the Egon Schiele book would always be in the stack (I am pretty confident they realised). I would go into my room and close the door and go through this book page by page and stare at these amazing paintings and drawings. I don't know if I had started masturbating by this point, but it definitely awakened something in me! I have been obsessed with women ever since!
I have had some amazing conversations about art and sex over the years, and have seen some really cool exhibitions exploring that intersection too. Does anyone have any favourite artists who explore these ideas? And (even better question) do you have any artworks that really turn you on??
Another noteworthy one for me is Prue Stent - I don't find her artwork inherently turns me on, but it definitely gives me that feeling of admiration for female bodies; the pink, the textures and the folds, the weaving of bodies/body parts together - I just love her work.
Hoping others here might have some interesting artists to name drop, or sexy experiences with artworks they want to share!

_redbird_

Member

Registered: 22-04-16

Posts: 388

Re: Art and sex

Ooh such a good topic Piper!! There's no specific works of art that I can recall turning me on during my formative years (having said that, I definitely always noticed and appreciated the boobies and peens in any nude art I found) but the first time I can remember being really turned on by art is the photo series called "Revenge" by Ellen Von Unwerth. The basic plot of the collection of images is that a cruel wealthy woman's servants turn on her and punish her via bondage. All of the images are in black and white and there's some particularly hot images of women in suits making out, all whilst occupying a really beautiful old mansion. It ticked so many of my boxes, ooh my. It doesn't quite do it for me as much as it used to though, as all of the women depicted are slim and young, neither of which are particularly my jam anymore. It's worth taking a look at though, just for the impressive costumes and setting.

maurice_B

Member

Registered: 02-01-17

Posts: 138

Re: Art and sex

When thinking about art in general, not just visual arts, I’d say music and in particular sexy singer voices are more of a turn-on for me. But I can totally see where you’re coming from Piper, there’s definitely some fantastic erotic artwork out there, and whereas in photography I don’t mind explicit images (at all), when it comes to paintings and drawings it’s rather the opposite – I appreciate them more when not every detail is spelled out, leaving much more room for your imagination to work. In this sense Egon Schiele is indeed a wonderful artist as he does just that, using colors in a subtle, restrained way that I find very appealing. Another artist you may want to explore is Gustav Klimt – his nude drawings actually do turn me on.

Piper_A

Member

Registered: 26-03-18

Posts: 83

Re: Art and sex

I was actually thinking of adding a disclaimer at the end of my post to mention that I didn't feel this needed to be restricted to visual arts hehe!

Redbird I am totally not surprised that an artwork featuring women in suits made your list haha. I just looked up Ellen Von Unwerth's work - it is an incredibly sexy body of work! But I have to agree about the not-so-diverse bodies, and think I probably have a similar response to it - the themes and the aesthetic are interesting and hot, my younger self would have eaten it up, but now i'm looking for more. In both art and porn! But generally I have always found those kinds of art-nudes really sexy - black and white photography, all those luxurious/sexy tropes - the pearls and the stockings and garters and corsets and heels, something about that dark old glamour - it has always had a place in my heart and in the sexy part of my brain haha.

Maurice I absolutely agree that sexy singers voices can be a huge turn on. My partner and I often talk about how sexy Lana Del Rey's voice is - in my mind, her voice sounds the way that burlesque dancing looks! Such a sexy voice.
As a general rule, I don't find artwork erotic unless it absolutely spells out eroticism to me - if creating a sexy image isn't something clearly intended by the artist then I don't usually probe that far, but there are definitely artists that have that subtle middle-ground for me; and some of Gustav Klimt's work would make that list! I think he has made some incredible, ethereal images that, while they're not outwardly 'sexual', they make me feel a bit blushy! I think 'The Kiss' is probably his most well-known painting, but i've allllways loved it - the way their bodies seem to be merged, the way he is cupping his lover's face with both hands, the way she seems to be melting down into his arms / eyes closed relishing that feeling, UGH I love it so much! It's one of my favourites - my partner bought me a print of that painting a few years ago for Christmas because he knew it had such a big place in my heart - always has and always will, I think!

(P.s. I love that I get to have this discussion here!! In my previous jobs in galleries I got to talk about art plenty of the time, but I absolutely couldn't have talked about it turning me on, I reckon that would have got me some funny looks from my colleagues haha)

maurice_B

Member

Registered: 02-01-17

Posts: 138

Re: Art and sex

Piper it's so interesting to read about your love for 'The Kiss' and I can see why you find it so fascinating. For me unfortunately, this particular painting is sensory overload. It evokes the same kind of feeling in me that I had when travelling in Bali - it's beautiful, but I feel overwhelmed by the myriad of sensory impressions. It's not that I need a desert landscape to feel happy, not at all, but I do need something I can focus on, if that make sense. To give you another example, I love Miro and Picasso, am on friendly terms with most of Klee's paintings but tend to avoid Hundertwasser. So you can see why Klimt's pencil drawings would be much closer to my heart - they're simple, but still tickle your imagination. - As a somewhat related thought, often when watching an IFM video I'll hit the pause button like every few seconds to fully take in the changing facial expressions of the contributor, so a single video can provide me with a whole bunch of individual pieces of sexy artwork to keep my dirty mind busy!

I smiled when you brought up Lana del Rey as I almost mentioned her in my first post - she's top of my list as well. Lauren Jauregui also comes to mind and of course Hannah Reid (nothing like London Grammar as the perfect backdrop to a Northern winter day!).

Last edited by maurice_B (06-12-20 00:45:11)

_hyperballad_

Member

Registered: 04-08-16

Posts: 556

Re: Art and sex

For as long as I can remember I have been VERY into looking at naked women. Just couldn't get enough of it! Especially erotic, ecstatic bodies. Norman Lindsay's work immediately comes to mind. It was the antithesis to all I'd been taught & seen of in terms of women's bodies. I was only ever aware of women's bodies as procreational tools, so to see all of that flesh & pleasure was a heavenly, alluring departure from the shitty 'reality' I'd been shown. I know for sure I was very into his paintings that depicted women together.

I actually have 'Unknown Seas' framed on my wall behind my desk at home. Every day I look up at what I imagine is a matriarchal, pleasure-led society of sirens.