Does Miss Erotica sleep with Mr Porn?
Québec-based Amoxes is our featured artist; he begins our art section with this
poignant, passion-
ate consideration of the merits of the erotic genre. As he argues his case,
he outlines the struggle he’s had to continue producing his art in a society that is still
uncomfortable with the reality of sexuality.
What is the thin line between erotic art and porno-
graphy? I guess it’s the familiar chicken or
the egg question that returns to us for consideration. Or is it more a question of religious
opinion and disagreement, or a question of our historical time period? One thing is for sure:
one must be careful not to answer too quickly, or he (or she) might become lost in a labyrinth
of complexity. This article is not meant to start a debate, or to find “the right” answer; rather,
it’s an assembling of questions and personal experience. So I will stay as grounded as possible while giving my opinion to avoid the reader becoming over-
whelmed with boredom.
Does Miss Erotica sleep in the same bed with Mr Porn? That is “la question”. It is a question
that keeps coming back to me from time to time when I create erotic themes in my art. It is
asked of me by many different people from different social and cultural back-
grounds. Let’s
start from the beginning.
Strangely, earlier on when I began holding my first exhibitions back in the early ’90s, it never
occurred to me that nudity was a topic of such strong social deb-
ate. I knew many people were
perhaps misinformed and, for var-
ious reasons, perhaps not at ease with the subject, and in my
mind this was understandable. But I never thought it could ignite such strong conflicts. I took
for granted that most people were able to respond to erotic art reasonably, and in a logical
man-
ner, without extreme reactions to it. In my mind it was supposed to be simple: when
exhibitions con-
taining some nudity were well arranged, well prepared and placed in a public
area that was acceptable for this sort of art, what could possibly be the problem?
