|
The Seattle Erotic Art Festival It was late March in Seattle when roughly 400 artists from around the world participated an annual celebration of a sex-positive life. Each year the crowds swell to even bigger numbers, more than even the event organizers have expected to show up. This is a sign of the times, a sign of growing acceptance, of a growing appreciation of an essential part of our humanity: sexuality.
What makes this event inspirational, beyond the painting, photography and sculpture, is the breadth of people and their willingness to participate through their own artistic expressions. People wear anything from leather to animal costumes, all in the name of “freedom of sexuality, speech and creativity through the erotic expression of fine art."
One of my personal favorites was "The Virgin Project", the presentation by artists Kevin Boze and Stasia Kato, telling the tales individual’s deflowering in the format of a comic book. More amazing than the art itself, however, was the connection it had to the festival goers and how it compelled them to stop and share their own stories. As an observer and a newcomer, this openness shocked me, and then made me realize how connected we are in our experiences. We all have tales of the first time, the last time, the next time and the fantasies.
All in all, it seemed that this festival allowed people to open up and to express their sexual identities without fear.
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if an erotic art festival wasn’t one of the few places we felt enough acceptance to be so free? At least we have these few days and other shows like it, however, to be so free.
© Gaëlle
| 
Email Article
Print Article
Discuss This (4 Comments)
Del.icio.us
Furl
Technorati
Yahoo! My Web
Reddit
Column Archives
Column RSS Subscription
