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Sex and Neurosis
An artistic collaboration explores the erotic and eccentric
By Penelope Bass
Published on 06/11/2009
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“Our eroticism is as unique as our fingerprints.”
–Photographer Jeanloup Sieff
Of all the controversial subjects bobbing around our culture, nothing can manage to incense people quite like the subject of sex. Even modest sexual content in movies can easily earn an “R” rating, while graphic violence is deemed appropriate for those 13 and older. And who among our generation will ever forget Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl stunt with the nipple seen ’round the world and the melee of irrational thought that followed.
Perhaps because sex itself is already so fraught with emotion—passion, anger, lust, control—that it conjures our best and worst attitudes toward the topic. And so treading into the territory of erotic art can be a dangerous journey, especially when the focus wanders from not only the simple beauty of the human form but into the realm of fetish, violence and sexual neuroticism.
“I don’t know where the line is between erotic art, neurotic art and porn,” says local artist David Grandon. “There’s definitely a line, but I don’t think any of us have crossed that line.”
The exhibit that Grandon is referring to is “NuErotica,” a collaboration between some of Flagstaff’s most well known and talented artists to create a show that moves beyond the typical connotations of erotic art by incorporating quality work with a variety of interpretations on the subject.
“I think just by calling it ‘neurotica’ or ‘new erotica’ we’re kind of breaking the mold and allowing for interpretation.
I guess you could call what I’m doing ‘erotic,’ but really it’s more evocative and about mood, and it has more of a sinister feel,” says Grandon. “I think in the past, a lot of people doing erotic art were doing it for the shock value of it. We’re moving out of that just by the sheer quality of the art.”
Born of a weekly get-together of local artists at the Pay ‘n Take, the idea for the show has evolved over the past several months and created a fair amount of buzz in the artistic community. Contributing work to the show so far will be David Grandon, John and Raechel Running, Bruce Aiken, Shonto Begay, Mike Frick, Greg Mason, George Averbeck, Charlie Bynar and several others, contributing paintings, photography, figure drawings, blown glass, kinetic sculptures and more.
“There’s really a vacuum that only John (Running) has filled with that sort of sensuous art,” says Grandon. “There have been some erotic shows in the past, some good, some not so good. But there wasn’t a really cohesive collaboration of local artists that were doing it.”
“(Erotic art) has been there for the whole history of art, ever since we started drawing on caves,” says John Running. “It’s been with us forever, and I think most artists dip into it at some point.”
Running’s photographic series the “Album Erotica” has been evolving over many years with photos representing everything from our connection with nature to the beauty of sensuality to the depiction of sexual fetishes.
“I think it can have a playfulness to it. It is erotic, but it’s really kind of a sense of play. And play is really what feeds the creativity in my work,” says Running, explaining that even his photos that depict a sense of domination carry empowerment. “The model always has the end of the rope, in other words, she’s the one in control. Photography is an act of submission. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re photographing a model or doing a portrait or you’re taking a picture of a flower or a landscape, I really believe that you have to submit to whatever you’re photographing and take what they give you.”
Grandon’s own series of paintings for the show also dabble in a darker side of sexual nature, picturing a woman in her underwear bound with an extension cord. In one painting she lies face down on the floor, wrists and ankles tied together. In another she is sprawled down a flight of stairs.
“For me, this (show) has really given me license to paint things that are sort of out of my realm, and it’s been unbelievably satisfying,” Grandon said. “What really drove me to do a series was that people came in and hated them, and I’ve never made anything that drove somebody to that. I’ve heard ‘Oh, these are cute’ or ‘That’s pretty.’ But I’ve never had anyone just gut-wrenchingly hate something.”
Of course, not all of the feedback has been negative, and Grandon has seen an interesting breakdown in demographic when it comes to the general opinion on the work. “Women in their 40s and 50s typically (hate them) because there is a threatening sense. And women in their 30s and younger feel that they’re liberating. And then I get the same response from women in their 60s and older, that they’re liberating,” Grandon says. “It was a process, thinking of it more as a figure study. Then the emotion came into it and was doubly infused by people coming in and giving me positive and negative reinforcement.”
But love it or hate it, the show is certain to raise passions and start conversations during its three-day-only exhibition for the Pride in the Pines weekend.
“It’s the perfect date because there’s sort of a sense of liberalism and freedom with Pride in the Pines, and it’s kind of a sexually charged air,” says Grandon. “It’s only going to be in half of the gallery, and I’m going to put curtains up. So it will give it a little mystique, but it will also give people a choice of whether or not they want to see it. For a long time Flagstaff has been known for kind of tourist-friendly art. And now because it’s becoming a real art scene, we can have more challenging pieces out there.”
“NuErotica” will be on display in the Grandon Art Gallery, 19 N. Leroux, Fri, June 12–Sun, June 14 only. To accompany the exhibit, Dean Bonzani and his band the Babushkas of Doom will perform in the window stage at 6 p.m. on Friday, and Clair Anna Rose will perform at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The Flagstaff Poetry Slam team will be giving spoken work performances both nights. For more information about the exhibit, contact the Grandon Gallery at 380-4915 or visit www.grandonartgallery.com or www.johnrunning.com.
Additional photos for this story:
"Hogtied" by David Grandon
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"Waiting" by David Grandon
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"Electric" by David Grandon
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"The Darkness" by Charlie Bynar
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"Floaters" by Mike Frick
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"Bite Me" by Christopher Powell
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