Dear Art-loving friend,
In 2009 I began a
tradition for this blog. With the idea
of living closer to the Earth, more Natural, as it were, I decided to celebrate
the coming of a new year with an NYE blog post featuring naughty art; art forms
not unlike some of the art you might see in Pompeii, Italy. Many consider Pompeii to be full of erotic
art, and fair enough. Those Italians
thought of a male erection as a sign of prosperity and fertility, i.e., a wondrous
event to celebrate and enjoy the fruits or gifts the gods have given us. Their homes often featured at the entrance a
mosaic of some incredibly endowed human of the male persuasion. It was not considered obscene. It was seen as a welcoming wish for prosperity
and abundance.
I suspect that most
figurative artists, at least, create some erotic art at some point in their
lives. I can say that safely since
eroticism is quite personal and thus, the boundaries blurred for some people. I suppose anything goes with just the right audience.
In any event, I feel
that I have been slacking off over the last several years in this particular
genre. I had hoped to create at least one piece of intentionally erotic each
year. I have a few pieces in the works, but
to be honest, I am trying to make my work at bit more … hmm.. subtle is not the
word, GRAND? but you will just have to
wait and see for yourself.
While I was visiting
the Carusi Studios of marble carving in Carrara back in November, I saw a
marble sculpture outside from an unknown artist. Many artists use their studio space (the
Carusi no doubt know, but I forgot to ask and today is the sharing day…) I will admit that for all of the putti or just babies in art that I have
seen, these two kinda gave me the creeps.
I think of them as the “lascivious babies” because seriously, have you
ever seen such a passionate, sexy kiss between young ones?
I know that children
enjoy mimicking adults, but these two seem far too young for that.
So, what is up?
However, the work is beautifully executed and
also, the large belly of the baby girl made me think of how some artworks tell
stories in that they show something of the past, present, and future in the
same artwork.
Sometimes that means
depicting a couple in the foreground (usually representing the present time) and
then repeating them in the background (future and/or past, depending on where
they are located in the painting, for example).
The big belly here serves to remind us that “one thing leads to
another.”
This is not unlike the common
placement in the US of the sexy lingerie shops existing RIGHT NEXT to the
maternity stores.
So. . . um, enjoy (?)
these kissing babies. Maybe even creepy
romance is still better than war. And
let us work to make 2015 a year of peace and love and tons of fun!
Thank
you for your interest and enthusiasm,
Kelly
~
Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher
