Explorative Workshop: Sexuality and Gender as art forms

Considering sexuality and the female body in art as dialectical images and reflecting on the politics surrounding equality, power, and identity.

I had the opportunity to run an Annie Sprinkle inspired reflective workshop exploring sexuality, sex, and gender in and through art mediums. Considering sexuality and the female body in art as dialectical images and reflecting on the politics surrounding equality, power, and identity.

I personally find Walter Benjamin’s theory of a dialectical image is in itself rather dialectical, but I think this is what make it such a fantastic lens through which to explore and analyse things. It can be thought of as the Marxian process of change through the conflict of opposing forces, whereby a given contradiction is characterized by a primary and a secondary aspect, the secondary succumbing to the primary, which is then transformed into an aspect of a new contradiction. It can also be though of as the contradiction between a pair of conflicting forces viewed as the determining factor in their continuing interactions.I would define dialectic in this context as being directly inspired by the Marxian process of change through the conflict of opposing forces, whereby a given contradiction is characterized by a primary and a secondary aspect, the secondary succumbing to the primary, which is then transformed into an aspect of a new contradiction. It could also be considered as a contradiction between a pair of conflicting forces viewed as the determining factor in their continuing interactions.

So, who is Annie Sprinkle? For those of you who haven’t heard of her she is a fascinating individual who has been a:

• Sex Worker
• Feminist Stripper
• Pornographic film actress
• Performance Artist
• Film Producer
• Film Director
• Sex Educator
• Artist
• Activist
• Author
• Dr of Human Sexology
• Lecturer
• Campaigner for health care for sex workers
• Post-Porn Modernist
• Ecosexualist

Just to name a few of her many talents, interest and achievements. In 1996, she became the first [known] Pornstar to get a doctoral degree, she has exhibited as an artist in Documenta 14, produce a film sponsored by the Guggenheim and has written and spoken on many subjects pertaining to se, sexuality, health and environmentalism. Her fantastic use of satirical-commentary, and ability to juxtaposed sexuality, politics and diversity in her work is both fascinating and inspiring. I would say that she herself is and embodied dialectic image.

The workshop focused on performance art material and reflected on how gender and sexually are portrayed and defined within art and artistic performance. We discussed and reflected on the thin line between empowerment and objectification, how this can also be personally and socioculturally subjective and weather they can exist simultaneously. We explored the notions surrounding defining art and performance art, contemplating how eroticism, sexuality and gender alter or shape this definition. The workshop was utilised material within the special collections and archives, while reflecting on the issues of equality, power, and identity in the context of sexuality, artistic and visual expression and considering sexuality and the female body in art through the lens of Walter Benjamin’s theory of a dialectical image. We explored a range of materials pertaining to a variety of visual and perfomative arts, including music, pornography, painting, photography, magazines, and other similar forms of expression. These were paired with essays, protest ephemera, research, essay and books exploring censorship, sexuality, gender, politics, art, history and self expresssion. The workshop was about reframing and enquired and my aim was to have participants leave with more questions about these areas and increased holistic view of research, representation and appreciation for the varietie of elements help within the topics discussed and their relation to sex, sexuality and perfomative arts.

The workshop was not about creating definition but instead about looking through different lenses and exploring the dialectic and juxtaposed nature of gender and sexuality within art and performance art.

Workshop Material list:

Printed Material

• Anarchist songbook : to tunes you know
• South London Anarchist Group
• Annie Sprinkle : post-porn modernist : my 25 years as a multi-media whore by Annie Sprinkle
• xxxooo love and kisses from annie sprinkle vol 1 and 2 , Annie Sprinkle
• Pierre et Gilles : double je, 1976–2007
• Cicciolina. By Ilona Staller, Ilona Staller
• Re.act.feminism : a performing archive Bettina Knaup edtior, curator. Beatrice Stammer edtior, curator. Cross links (Berlin), host institution. (page 40 -41, 168–179)
• 1000 Nudes by Uwe Scheid Collection
• Schonneit Im Olympischen Kampf
• The X Rated Video Tape Guide
• Sex Objects : art and the dialectics of desire by Doyle, Jennifer.
• Dirty Looks
• sexuality, gender & identity by MacDonald, Charlotte Keenan, curator.
• Cosey Complex
• The beauty of the female form : 48 photographic studies by Bertram. Park Yvonne Gregory
• Playboy
• Nude photography by Karin. Malin

Archive Material

• Sexuality, feminism and social politics essays and writings
• Sprinkle, Annie — Annie –Mated artist file
• Rivkah Hetherington ‘ My body my self ‘ 1999 (Essay)
• Evil Girl works and ephemera
• Newspaper (Sex Workers Union)
• ‘The Woman that I am’ Ila Meyer record
• ‘Friend in You; Isolation; Stereotyping; Song About Myself’ by Jam Today
• MAKE magazine 80 (Pages 2–7), 90 (page 22–23)
• LTTR box
• Wal Poster “Women March Against Male Violence”
• Wal Poster “Pornography is violence against women”
• Wal Poster “Demonstration Against Pornographic Art”
• Wal Poster “Women and Crime”
• MAKE magazine 80 (Pages 2–7), 90 (page 22–23)