Museum of Sex Presents ‘Erotic Content & the Mainstream, 1960 till Today’
The Museum of Sex (MoSex) proudly announces details about its summer exhibition, “Erotic Content & the Mainstream 1960 till Today.” This exhibition, a presentation of media examining how erotic content has permeated mainstream culture since the 1960s, will be on view at the Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Avenue) starting June 4, 2021.
Composed of four thematic sections, An Avante-Garde, Sexualized Marketing, Scandalous Scenes of Cinema, and Music: an Erotic Form, the exhibition will present a curated selection of over 60 videos. In addition to the video compilations and full screening of a selection of fine art and experimental films, the exhibition will feature vintage movie posters, historical ephemera and a timeline looking at censorship in media over the last six decades. The show will be organized chronologically offering an in-depth examination of the shifts in cultural attitudes towards sexual content in mainstream mass media.
The history of mass media is one of political and social discrimination against forms of illicit content. When the first motion pictures came out, they were attacked and deemed too titillating for the masses. Since the first films appeared in the nineteenth century, pornographic content has moved slowly but surely from the edges to the center. While sex has always been culturally relevant, the creative revolution of the 1960s inspired a more open environment in which erotic material, called “porno chic” was embraced.
Today sexual material has seeped into all aspects of mainstream mass media, energizing a variety of cultural genres and sparking the sex-positivity movement. This shift of erotic content from the margins to the mainstream has been part of an overall liberalization of popular culture since the 1960s.
The exhibition will feature subversive art films by Carolee Schneemann, Natalia LL, Hannah Wilke, Ximena Cuevas, Mike Kuchar, and Shawné Michaelain Holloway. It will also discuss infamous cultural figures in advertising and music such as Jimi Hendrix, Edie Adams, Donna Summers, Prince, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Fabio, Salt-N-Pepa, Rihanna and Cardi B. Iconic scenes from films like “Midnight Cowboy” (1968), “Deepthroat” (1972), “Fatal Attraction” (1987) and “Moonlight” (2016) will scintillate visitors. Audiences will enjoy a nostalgic look back on the popular culture of the last six decades through the moving image and marvel at how our attitudes toward erotic content have changed.
“Erotic Content & the Mainstream 1960 till Today” was organized by Emily Shoyer, Lead Curator and Eve Arballo, Curatorial Assistant.
ABOUT MUSEUM OF SEX
The mission of the Museum of Sex is to preserve and present the history, evolution, and cultural significance of human sexuality. Since opening in 2002, the museum has collaborated with world-renowned cultural institutions, artists, and academics to create exhibitions and interactive programs that explore the best in current scholarship in the arts, sciences, and humanities. From fine art to historical ephemera, its permanent collection comprises more than 15,000 sexually significant artifacts.
To learn more visit: https://www.museumofsex.com/
Facebook: @mosex | Twitter: @museumofsex
Museum of Sex, 233 Fifth Avenue (at 27th Street) New York, NY 10016; (212) 689 6337.
Image credit: Film Still from Natalia LL’s, “Consumer Art” (1975) courtesy of the ZW Foundation.
News Source: Museum of Sex
