Erotic+Art

Kaitlin Hart

** Erotic Art **




 * Definition**

Erotic art involves any artistic work, painting, drawing, sculptures, photography, film, music and/or performance, which seeks to titillate and arouse their audiences through representations of sexuality (Cavendish, 2009). Erotic art typically aims not only to activate the viewer’s sexuality but to reflect that of the artist. That is to say, erotic works usually will embody a perspective on what is depicted, suggesting sexual interest on the maker’s part (Craig, 1998). These artistic works as a result will evoke certain erotic feelings, or sexual arousal, in the viewer of that piece.

Erotica (or otherwise known as “erotic”) gets its name from the Greek word eros, meaning “desire” or “passionate love”. Erotica can describe works appealing to sexuality in general of that focus on specific sexual behaviors (e.g. voyeurism, sexual fantasies) (Cavendish, 2009).

There are at least three different kinds of erotic visual (pictorial) art, reflecting three different intentions or purposes: to cause sexual arousal, to portray or capture some element of aspect of sexuality or sensuousness, or to express or communicate something in pictorial form about sexuality or sensuousness (often some insight the artist themselves have about it) (Garlikov, 2011).


 * Social Functions of Erotic Art Content**

1. Art helps to legitimize existing social structures by representing them (Vytautas, 1964) 2. Art reinforces dominant cultural values by offering images psychologically congruent with them (Vytautas, 1964) 3. Art expresses subjective involvements with contemporary events by representing them and by grappling with them may help to shape emerging group or individuals’ identities (Vytautas, 1964)


 * History of Erotic Art [[image:erotic_art_2.jpg width="414" height="248" align="right" caption="Paleolithic Erotic Art (statue): The Venus of Willendorf"]]**

Erotic art has been a part of most cultures throughout history. In the ancient world, for example, depictions of sexuality on pottery and murals were very common (Cavendish, 2009). Paleolithic cave paintings and statues, African carvings, and Greek and Roman vases included phallic symbols, idealized depictions of the female form, and depicted couples engaged in various forms of sexual activity (Cavendish, 2009). Among the oldest surviving examples of erotic depictions are Paleolithic cave paintings and carvings, but many cultures have created erotic art (“History of Art: Erotica in Art”). Nude human beings with exaggerated sexual characteristics are depicted in some Paleolithic paintings and artifacts (Cavendish, 2009).

The ancient Greeks painted sexual scenes on their ceramics, many of them famous for being some of the earliest depictions of same-sex relations (“History of Art: Erotica in Art”, 2011). Greek erotic art often portrayed sexual activity, a reflection of sexual situations from their daily lives, some more sexual than others. The Greeks also created the first illustration of lesbian eroticism in the West, with Sappho’s Hymn to Aphrodite and other homo-erotic works (“History of Art: Erotica in Art”, 2011).

There has been a long tradition of erotic painting in the East as well. Japan, China, India, Persia, and other areas produced quantities of art in celebration of the human faculty of love ("History of Art: Erotica in Art", 2011). The works depicted love between a man and a woman, as well as same-sex love. One of the most famous ancient sex manuals was the //Kuma Sutra//, written by Mallanaga Vatsyayana in India (“History of Art: Erotica in Art”, 2011). Considered to be the standard work on sex in Sanskrit literature, portions of it describe a wide variety of sexual positions and acts. The //Ananga Ranga//, an Indian love manual written around 1179 CE, was produced specifically to prevent the separation of husband and wife (Cavendish, 2009).

Along the same lines are Japanese “pillow” books, produced between the 12th and 18th centuries, originally written on scrolls and used by concubines in geisha houses (Cavendish, 2009). They included erotic poems and stories, as well as sex advice, and were later used to educate newlyweds on what to expect on their wedding night. Erotic literature, such as these examples, certainly provided and introduced sexual education and perhaps titillation, but sexual activity was at times seen as spiritual, symbolizing harmony in the universe and the very essence of life itself (Cavendish, 2009).


 * Erotic Art versus Pornography**

Eroticism is more artistic than pornography in capturing the beauty, shape, and form of the human body and its deeper portrayal of our emotions, lust and desires (Howie, 1997-2011). Good erotic art portrays good healthy sexuality and sex; joyful, exciting, intimate, interesting and pleasurable (Howie, 1997-2011).

Pornography is usually understood as sexually explicit material, produced to arouse and presented in poor taste. It may be violent and demeaning to women, while erotica pieces are often more egalitarian and focuses on the anticipation of sex as much as the sexual activity itself (Cavendish, 2009). The task is complicated by the fact that drawing such a distinction can be made more difficult by gender, class, and cultural and psychological prejudices. In general in modern usage, erotic representations are linked with artistic aspirations, in contrast to pornography’s more commercial nature (Cavendish, 2009).

Outside of the legal system, the most articulate attempt to distinguish erotica from pornography was undertaken by second-wave feminists from the late 1960s. Gloria Steinem, for example, differentiated erotica from pornography based on the amount of tenderness expressed by two sexual partners and the lack of coercion involved. In 1983 she wrote, “Erotica is about sexuality, but pornography is about power and sex-as-weapon” (Cavendish, 2009).


 * Cultural Views on Sex and Erotic Art**

Cultures have special norms for sexuality, often defining sexuality as “normal” based on what is acceptable in terms of determining sexual social norms (Bond, 2011). Throughout time, generations from different eras have been placed in different sexual generation categories, and as cultures changed and developed over time, so did their standards and aesthetics of sexual expression (Cavendish, 2009). Expressions of sexuality that offended the standards of good taste in one cultural and historical context seem tame in another (Cavendish, 2009). For example, during the “Generation of Sexual Restraint”, the youth of the 1930s and 1950s did not go through a series of information exchange, because the talk of sex was not allowed. There was also a lack of tenderness, touching and sexual expression (Bond, 2011). Now, we are in the “Generation Now-Modern Society”, where erotic art serves as an “out of body experience” in communicating sex (Bond, 2011). This “Sexual Revolution” period is essentially a baring of ideas, desires, and objects which have been active below the surface of Western civilization. It has presented broader areas of expression for artists and a rich new source of art objects for teachers to incorporate into their curricula (Cavendish, 2009).


 * References**

Bond, B. (February 16, 2011). //Sexual Norms//. Champaign, Illinois.

Cavendish, M. (2009). Erotica. //Sex and Society, Vol. 1//, 213-215

Craig, E. (1998). Erotic Art. //Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 10//, 407-408

Garlikov, R. (2011). //A Philosophy of Erotic Visual Art//. Retrieved from []

//History of Art: Erotica in Art//. (2011). Retrieved from []

Howie, K. (1997-2011). //Art, Erotica, Sex & Pornography//. Retrieved from __[]__

//Image// (Erotic Art: Drawing). Retrieved from []

//Image// (Erotic Art: Paleolithic Statue). Retrieved from []

Kavolis, V. (1964). Art Content and Social Involvement. //Social Forces, Vol. 42, No. 4//, 467-472