Is Sexy Art Back, or Is It Just Me?
From Willem de Kooning’s miserable nudes to Alexandra Barth’s hot and bothered architecture, sex is in the air in Chicago.
In recent exhibitions in Chicago, a noticeable increase in erotic themes has caught my attention. While art has always featured eros, it hasn't been as prominent in recent shows at my teaching institution or the ones I've experienced. Could this be the return of sex in popular culture, or is it just me, approaching the age where such a shift might occur?
The phenomenon is supported by a limited survey, though this isn't a personal essay about my own sexuality or that of my acquaintances. As for the exhibitions themselves, a recent display by Alice Tippit at the DePaul Art Museum left me questioning my mental state, as the catalogues didn't reflect the underlying eroticism. Similarly, Shannon Stratton's SHADOW project featured Holly Murkerson's alluring photographs of a stone passageway and David Sprecher and Neiva Mulhearn's leather-and-wood stools that required intimate engagement.
However, the Art Institute of Chicago's summer exhibition, Willem de Kooning Drawing, was a letdown. Despite the positive reviews, the pervasive depiction of miserable naked women throughout the galleries, particularly in the mid-60s charcoals of the mid-sized rowboat, made the subjects appear more like crime victims rather than artistic subjects.
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