Creepy, cute and radically soft: unpacking the importance of contemporary feminist erotic art
Date
2021-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The value of art that lies beyond surface levels of aestheticism has been discussed in
academic depth, yet a feminist erotic art tends to escape such analyses, possibly due
to its fringe status both in form and subject matter. It is possible, however, that this
‘lowbrow’ amalgamation holds many interpretative possibilities and is worth
critically engaging with. Thus, by drawing upon my own creative practice as well as
works by other feminine and non-binary identifying artists, this thesis unpacks how
erotic art can act as a multifaceted tool of catharsis to explore entanglements of
sexuality.
An element of oddity is also explored by providing a case study of deviance, or
when ‘odd’ erotic artworks have faced censorship and the possible reasons therefor
and implications thereof. This unorthodoxy is further bolstered by conceptualising
catharsis through a detangling of the obsessive desire to create fantastical images.
Through a comparison to ‘lowbrow’ or dissident art forms, it is argued that feminist
erotic art can exist both as a revolutionary space of reclamation and self-discovery
both for the artist and the viewer. Radical softness and eroticism are thus discussed
as a tool of repossession. Further, it is also argued that feminist erotic art can attain both personal and
intersectionally feminist community-building power through creating a realm that is
both fantastical and relatable for various ‘othered’ individuals. Accordingly, the
importance of sharing sex-positive imagery that softly combats heteropatriarchal
norms of representation is highlighted.
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Description
Thesis (MA(VA))--Stellenbosch University, 2021.
Keywords
Visual Arts, Feminism and art, Erotic art, UCTD