Arts

4 Exploring Art and Eroticism: A timeline

Lily Boag

A visual expression of physical passion and sensuality, art has always been a means for creative sexual exploration. Sexual desire is inherent to the human condition, being the glorified performance of the natural naked body. Throughout history, our hunger for depictions of human sexuality and eroticised bodies has been reflected within the art world. Here are some of the pieces that stand out within the art and eroticism timeline. 1. The French Bed: On display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Rembrandt’s ‘The French Bed’ created in 1646 is an etching and drypoint print which depicts a semiclothed couple passionately making love in a four-poster bed. It is suggested that this couple could even be Rembrandt himself, with his lover Hendrickje Stoffels. 2. Ten Scenes of Lovemaking: A handscroll painting by the artist Katsukawa Shun’ei, made during the Edo period in Japan, this piece can be found on display in the British Museum. A type of erotic Japanese Shunga art, often created as woodblock prints, illustrations, and paintings, the term Shunga in Japanese translates to ‘spring’, a Japanese euphemism for sex. Representing idealised contemporary urban life, varying widely in its portrayal of sexuality, this Japanese Shunga art depicts luxurious sexual scenes and graphic depictions of sexual intercourse in colourful detail, demonstrating the artistic value of sexual pleasure. 3. In Bed, the Kiss: Created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1892, and displayed in the Tate, In Bed, The Kiss portrays two women in bed, holding each other in their arms, and embracing in a kiss. It is a beautiful prejudice-free depiction of intimacy and desire, a post-impressionist snapshot of a passionate moment. The painting is considered by the artist as the height of pleasurable delight, capturing love’s tenderness in warm shades of red and yellow, surrounded by a softer pallet of grey, green, and blue.

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4. Two Women Embracing: Created by Egon Schiele, an Austrian expressionist figurative painter who found inspiration in the bedroom, this piece dates to 1915, and is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. Influenced by Gustav Klimt’s paintings of sexual dreams, Schiele’s work is known for its raw sexuality as the artist became popular for creating multiple nude self-portraits. In this piece, however, Schiele uses warm colours to create a beautiful, arousing, and erotic depiction of two women in love embracing. It is an example of sublime pornography, made from gouache, watercolour, and graphite on paper. 5. The Kiss: A surrealist illustration created by Picasso in 1967, this piece is on display in the Tate, London. Open mouths and twisting tongues, while this piece does not appear explicitly pornographic, the intensity of this kiss, driven by deep sexual desire, is unmistakable. Especially considering that this piece was made by one of the most sexual artists of all time. An erotic motif, this graphite on paper drawing is a playful and experimental portrayal of sensuality, depicting in moments of unbroken line, a bearded man kissing a young woman.

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Artists: Kiarna Whiteley (Left), Lily Boag (Right)

6 arts

Is postmodernity dead?

By Jack Warren

Postmodernity has to be one of the single most misunderstood, confusing, and widely thrown around words of the 21st century. Anyone who does a humanities degree will give you the stock answer quotation from Lyotard that postmodernism is an ‘incredulity towards metanarrtives’. Whatever that means…

Anyway, postmodernism has become its own metanarrative, and the art world has been actively building upon this metanarrative since its conception. Meaning maybe it was dead from the moment it was actualised, undergoing a living death (as Baudrillard might say) for the confusion of the display itself in.

And for us edgy artsy students with our postmodern surrealist meme humour and general confusion about the current state of the world, we are likely the best candidates to truly take postmodern art onboard as a genuine tool to question our material surroundings.

We live in an increasingly fast, bright, and complex system that is imploding inward, projecting itself onto the past and present. Objects and images are lost references to things we don’t even understand anymore. Memes are a crucial example of the strange balance between the absurd and relatable.

So, what defines postmodern art? Well, for starters it uses things that we can understand from daily life in its composition. Multimedia, intermedia, appropriation, recycling, and contradiction. In some senses we are desensitised to this as our lives contain these elements in the form of our media consumption. But perhaps this enables us to better understand the work of the likes Damien Hurst or Tracey Emin, works that are canonised in the realms of pretention, division and, confusion. When we are alienated from understanding the everyday, perhaps we can seek refuge in its abstraction into the sceptic and ironic. Postmodernity then, for better or for worse, is not quite dead yet.

Art in Wartime: Ukraine’s artists respond

By Elizabeth Woor

War has often produced some of the most recognised pieces of artwork in the world. Simultaneously, war often leads to the mass destruction of art. The initial statement of this article might come as no surprise. Maybe it’s even obvious that this would be the case. After all, many of us would associate art with pain or hardship in some form. However, art in wartime means more than just capturing the fighting. Art in war time has the ability to become an incredibly powerful tool of protest, inspiring others to join resistance movements. It can be an escape from the difficulties being faced, helping to increase morale of a nation. It even has the ability to become some of the most important propaganda in the course of history. In Ukraine, artists and Museums are using their work to present an incredibly defiant stance against the Russian invasion. One artist who has gained considerable media attention for his refusal to stop the opening of his solo show is Volo Bevza. His exhibition, titled ‘Soft Image’ was due to open as Russian forces edged closer to the border of Ukraine. Despite this, Bevza was determined for the show to go ahead, stating that he saw the exhibit as “a kind of protest against Russian aggression… spreading panic, misinformation, disorientation, and fear is at the core of the Russian hybrid war against Ukraine. So, we thought we’ll just continue doing our job, as small and unimportant it may seem to be.” Although the artist was eventually forced to shut the exhibition as citizens were urged to stay inside, his determination is a testament to how the creative community views their position of resistance in times of major distress. Further afield, where artists still have access to material, and most importantly, safe spaces to put on shows, Ukrainian artists have been raising awareness and encouraging others to show empathy. On March 5th, Ukrainian artists led an organised ‘paper planes’ protest at the Guggenheim Gallery in New York City. Lika Volk, one of the artists involved, stated that the message behind the planes was to “show people what it feels like when danger comes from the sky.” Museums, filled with items of national pride and history, come with a unique set of challenges when faced with the impending fear of invasion. They hold literal links to the past. Destroy these and can a country still feel connected to their past, and thus their idenitity? As the director of the The Mystetskyi Arsenal (one of the most significant museums In Ukraine) said during an interview with the BBC, ““We are facing not just an attack on Ukraine but an attack on our culture.” Like many other workers within the cultural industry, she made the decision to stay in Ukraine to help protect the objects within her institution. Others did not have the time, staff or choice to do the same. The race to safeguard objects of importance is difficult, and already there are reports of Russian forces destroying 25 works made by the celebrated Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenkoin the town of Ivankiv. More works will be burnt, vandalised, or stolen. Yet, it’s almost certain that the spirit of creativity will continue to flourish. Imagination can never be destroyed and, if Ukrainian artists have taught us anything so far, the visual arts will continue to stay alive.