Sex Show
as it appeared in The Charlatan, October, 1995
article written by Dave Ebner
Please see the easy to read text version below.
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press clipping for Sex Show as it appeared in The Charlatan, October, 1995 article written by Dave Ebner Please see the easy to read text version below. |
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| Sex Show Kinga Gallery, 265 Laurier Ave E Until Oct. 7 |
sex
show presented by the SMUT (Sex Makes Us Tick) artists |
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| It beckons you from afar. The lips are a
deep, throbbing red, thick and inviting. You're nervous, but desire to plunge
in. You step closer, admire the larger than life vagina, step through and
you're in a room of warmth, comfort and discovery. So begins your adventure at the Kinga gallery, a local independent art gallery host to the exhibit, Sex Show. Josée Drouin-Brisebois' "Pelorte / Door Snatch" is mounted on the door frame of the gallery's entrance, putting a smile on each and every guest. It parts its lips when you enter. Inside is a wide variety of erotic art produced by local artists. The show, a success for the close-knit Ottawa arts scene, was organized by artists Laura Margita and Darcy Schmidt. Margita credits the support and talent of the small supportive community for the excellent exhibit, emphasizing that Ottawa is different from other cities. "The Toronto scene is hard to break into," she says. "And Montreal is..." She stops speaking but makes a motion giving one a sense of a holier-than-thou, highbrow scene. She hopes to present the exhibit again in a gallery larger than the Laurier Street home. The opportunity to tour other cities is there. She says larger galleries are usually willing to take a chance and hold an exhibit when there is a group of artists involved, not just one. Twenty-three local artists are showcased at the Kinga Gallery. The pieces range from paintings to sculpture to photos and video. Each is different, exploring another side of sex and human sexuality. Kenneth Emig and Alexandre Castonguay have a simple, yet captivating piece dealing with voyeurism. Entitled "Between the Cracks", the piece sits below the floorboards of the gallery, viewed through a shoebox-sized rectangle covered by a piece of clear plastic. A light illuminates a miniature bed, which gently rocks as the movement under the sheets heats up. Emig and Castonguay capture a person's attention and hold them there, drawing on natural curiosity and desire for a sneak peak into another life. Several of the pieces on display are of a humorous nature. A television in a corner plays a film of a narrator reading from a children's style pop-out book. But this time, the pop-out is literal. The story is about a gay encounter between two toughs in a bar who rendezvous in the washroom. The accompanying script is done over-the-top, with such classics as: "I want you to thrust your manhood down my throat." The artists who created "Supersonic Penis Missile with Vagisil Warhead" also provide a laugh, but with definite messages. Mona Stat, Chastity L'Amour, Lou Brickant, and Peter O'Tool created a silver missile, aimed, armed, hard and ready to conquer new territory. Every piece in the exhibit will evoke some discussion either through subtlety or blatant confrontation. The most impressive piece in the exhibit was assembled and made by Margita. It is truly a collective work consisting of a sample of each artist's pubic hair in a small baggy, with an anecdote pasted beside. Notable notes include: "Ouch - it hurts to pull it out! It turns grey too'" "This is all I can spare," "I love my pubic hair. It's so me," and "Bikini-wax season is over - the sacrifice I make for art." Margita called it "Hair With a Part to Play". The construction consists of a picture frame, dressed up with black vinyl, button-down, couch material as the backdrop. Margita, who admits she is primarily a painter, decided to try other avenues after hitting a rut when working on new paintings for an upcoming exhibit. Part of the difficulty came when she began to deviate from her style of painting quickly. The more she thought about it, the more bogged down she became. She concedes it's necessary to discuss the meaning of her work with those who view it. "It's a very strange thing wanting to be an artist. But you don't want to be just a backroom one," she says. This exhibit gives local artists a chance to show other people what they are doing. The only complaint overheard was the conspicuous absence of an uncircumcised penis. You can never please everyone. |
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