Radical Eroticism

In the 1960s, the fascination with erotic art generated a wave of exhibitions and critical discussion on sexual freedom, visual pleasure, and the nude in contemporary art. Radical Eroticism examines the importance of women’s contributions in fundamentally reconfiguring representations of sexuality across several areas of advanced art—performance, pop, postminimalism, and beyond. This study shows that erotic art made by women was integral to the profound changes that took place in American art during the sixties, from the crumbling of modernist aesthetics and the expanding field of art practice to the emergence of the feminist art movement. Artists Carolee Schneemann, Martha Edelheit, Marjorie Strider, Hannah Wilke, and Anita Steckel created works that exemplify these innovative approaches to the erotic, exploring female sexual subjectivities and destabilizing assumptions about gender. Rachel Middleman reveals these artists’ radical interventions in both aesthetic conventions and social norms.

In anii 1960, fascinatia pentru arta erotica a generat un val de expozitii si discutii critice despre libertatea sexuala, placerea vizuala si nudul din arta contemporana. Erotismul radical examineaza importanta contributiilor femeilor in reconfigurarea fundamentala a reprezentarilor sexualitatii in mai multe domenii ale artei avansate - performanta, pop, postminimalism si nu numai.