For more than 20 years, The Seattle Erotic Art Festival has been something of an anomaly in the Contemporary Art world. With “modern” art having completely rejected figurative art altogether over the last 75 years, we are left with a landscape often hostile to contemporary artists who pursue representational techniques, and this is then compounded by America's Puritan roots and our society’s seemingly persistent fear of sexuality and eroticism. It can be very difficult to find a venue open to the public that is willing to display even a tasteful nude out of fear that such art would irreparably damage the outstanding moral fiber of any child or unmarried woman who should bear witness to such shameful representations of the human form. And yet, if you were to step foot in the Vatican (as I was once fortunate enough to do), you might find yourself shocked by the sheer amount of penises on display and, by extension, naked man ass. That is unless, of course, you're familiar with the Catholic Church’s long-standing and prestigious history of pedophilia, in which case you might find that the presence of so many dicks makes perfect sense, especially considering how small the majority of those penises are. The ancients were largely rocking micro-dicks, and the art of the era serves as proper documentation of this fact. There is one Vatican hallway in particular, called the Gallery of Statues, which is lined with ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures of nude or partially clothed men that are just hanging dong left and right. Seriously though, there are tiny, little fucking penises everywhere in this temple of conservative religious values, in the very heart of the Christian world. I should also note that there is not a single image of a vagina in the entire Vatican… And yet, here in America, where our collective morals and ethics are for sale to the most relentless bidders, displaying the nude human form is often taboo.
I had the great fortune of exhibiting my work at SEAF this year, and while this was my fourth time showing work at the festival, it was very special to me because this was my first time exhibiting a full bronze figure anywhere ever. That might not sound that special, but it was my focus on learning how to create this exact sort of art that got me kicked out of the sculpture department at the Hartford Art School back when I was in college. My sculpture professors had such disdain for realism that after I returned from studying abroad in Italy, they would yell at me that Michelangelo made "stupid art for stupid people" and that I did the same. When I was eventually booted from the department, I only needed three more sculpture credits for my BFA, and if not for the fact that I had been pursuing a double major and had painting to fall back on, I would have been absolutely screwed. I didn't touch sculpture again for 18 years, and my story isn't particularly unique, either; contemporary fine art is often far more concerned with gaslighting viewer than actual artistry, and those who dare to follow their artistic vision into the realm of figurative art, can find it difficult to find acceptance in modern academia. I spoke to one of my favorite painters, who has shown his work in every SEAF for years now; artist Dave Clay (daveclay.com check out his work, it’s pretty great) told me that he didn't necessarily see his work as erotic at all, he was just painting the figure.
Luckily, the deep-seated American societal fear of sex is matched only by our vast obsession with…yup, you guessed it—sex. On top of being quite profitable, our obsession with sex has also allowed for an intersection of creativity and figurative art that speaks to my heart far more directly than widely accepted contemporary pieces like "The Comedian" (the one with the banana taped to a wall that sold for $6.2 million), or anything done by uber-successful contemporary art hacks Jeff Coons (the giant balloon animal guy), Damien Hirst (known for suspending dead animals in large tanks) or the world's most overrated greeting card designer, Banksy. The beautiful niche that is erotic art is not only very profitable, but it is also possibly the strongest genre of art in terms of sheer power to connect with our shared humanity. Here, in this sphere, the taboo is a rich starting point for creative exploration of what many might consider the most “shameful” aspects of our existence. If anything, erotic art is the last true avant-garde, where you will find the bravest artists doing art that makes the most boring people in the world deeply uncomfortable. Keep in mind that there are still many places in the world where you would surely be killed for making the sort of art that is exhibited at SEAF every year.
For this year's festival, I decided to innovate a little; instead of spending a couple of hours chain-dabbing and doomscrolling in my hotel room before walking to the exhibition, I decided to do those things and micro-dose mushrooms…because self-sabotage is one of my most endearing attributes. The thing about micro-dosing is that the dose is supposed to be small enough to be "sub-perceptual" or, in other words, unnoticeable. Unbeknownst to me at the time, however, a recent change in my medications also meant a change in my body's micro-dose mechanics, and shortly after stepping foot in the festival, it became clear that I had tragically miscalculated somewhere down the line. As I strode into the Seattle Center confidently at first, wearing my red SEAF Artist placard, the weight of my error began to bear down upon me, with a deepening sense that every single one of the festival attendees could tell that I was in the midst of a self-medication malfunction. Despite this, I was determined to persevere until the drugs wore off and do my best to enjoy the festival.
Once I focused on the exhibition itself, the art came to life, and I became immersed in a world of color and form and beautifully depicted humans doing all kinds of sexual acts in all manner of artistic styles and mediums. Festival mainstays, like Francois Dubeau (francoisdubeau.com) and Dave Clay’s delightful new works, were prominently displayed. While I love to see what the festival regulars come up with every year, I find the greatest joy in marveling over all the amazing new art and artists represented at each SEAF. The bulk of art in the show is from new and emerging artists from all over the United States and Canada, and it is here that we find exciting new directions and interpretations of the erotic side of human nature.
As I did the customary gallery shuffle around the vast exhibition space (it's a kind of slow walk, where you sort of meander from piece to piece, lingering at those works that are the most appealing or interesting before moving to the next), it did not take long before I fell in love with a small painting called “Play Time” by Washington artist Scott Anstett (scottanstett.com). Such a delightful gem of a painting, this piece looks like a Polaroid (complete with the white edges and everything), only to reveal itself as a painting once you get closer. It captures an intimate moment between two lovers in a way that feels both nostalgic and voyeuristic. A great artist once told me, "A piece doesn't have to be big to be precious; gems are small and precious. Make a gem." Well, I can tell you that Scott Anstett has mastered that lesson in spades. I loved this piece so much that I almost bought it that first night, and were it not for my desire to leave town well before the designated art pick-up time after the festival closed down on Sunday, I surely would have. I honestly regret not purchasing it, now that I am reminiscing about it, but I digress.
Along my journey through the exhibition, there were highlights from nearly every medium, like Tim Tucker Wulf’s (tuckerwulf.com) emotionally heavy sculpture “Spent” to Ayla Quellhorst’s (aylaquellhorst.com) stunning photograph "Land of Milk & Honey" (one of this year's SEAF People's Choice Award winners)—every medium was well represented! I guess it's fair to say that my favorite pieces of art leave me filled with jealousy, which I then slowly funnel into the ambition to fuel my own work. There was just so much to be envious of at this year's SEAF...techniques I could only dream of and bold concepts that left me aspiring to achieve more in my own practice. Artist Cerveza’s (cerezaarcayastudio.com) simple watercolor painting “Sweet” had me feeling all sorts of ways. The artist uses a relatively simple gestural technique that is so masterfully executed that the piece is as much about what wasn't painted as what was. Such beautiful gestures, a subtle dab of paint captures the subject's lips almost effortlessly, as if to dare the viewer to try such a thing without 10,000+ hours of practice.
Occasionally, I would remember that I was in a space with about 1,000+ other humans, and shit would get socially awkward briefly until I spotted another delightful piece of art to disassociate on, and then I was back into the ebb and flow of the gallery shuffle.
This went on until I neared the stage; it was nearly impossible to stay in a dissociative state in the face of an epic silk performance by Wei In The Clouds. SEAF isn’t just visual art; there are also aerial performances with silks, pole dancing, and a range of cabaret showcases to entertain the masses. In case that isn't enough for you, there is plenty more going on around the festival, including the Pan Eros Festival Silent Film Showcase, the literary artists' readings, live body painting, tarot readings, the Erotic Movement Lab, and my personal favorite: live figure drawing! It's a lot to take in, a feast for the senses, and that's not just mushrooms talking, either. Being from PDX, the strip club capital of the world, I was left to wonder why more entertainers from our humble, little metropolis don't perform at SEAF. There is more erotic showcase talent concentrated in PDX than anywhere else in the world, after all. Whilst contemplating how nice it'd be to see Portland’s vast talent more represented at next year’s SEAF, the gallery shuffle took me to the last section of the festival I had yet to view. I turned a corner to find my own sculpture prominently displayed. This came as a kind of shock at first; I was so lost in the experience of viewing this year's astonishing collection of art that I had forgotten my true purpose for being there: shameless self-promotion…
My first two times exhibiting at SEAF was as an erotic printmaker specializing in digital painting. After the pandemic, I decided to revisit my failures as an undergrad and switched disciplines back to sculpture. It took a few years to build up my new portfolio, but I was finally able to start showing my art again last year and was fortunate enough to get a pair of bronzes into SEAF 2024. For this year's festival, my sculpture "Sex Worker (Age 21) Clasping Her Bra" was accepted and, to my surprise, sold to a collector before the festival even opened. It was an amazing feeling, especially since bronze sculptures aren't exactly cheap to create, and in our era of late-stage capitalism, they definitely aren’t getting any cheaper.
On the second day of the festival, I found myself in a much more sober state and was able to partake in some figure drawing and do a little socializing. The highlight of the festival for me is always the print store and the immense collection of affordable art for sale within. Each artist can submit up to 10 pieces to the store, so you can find all kinds of treasures here. This year, I added five more prints to my collection, including one by Echo Chernik (echochernik.com) called “Before Karnat," which I have fallen madly in love with. I should also note that her piece "Ocean Pets" from the main exhibition was absolutely stunning as well!
Fuck pretentiousness! The Seattle Erotic Art Festival is an art exhibition for people who like to actually enjoy stuff, aren’t afraid of genitals, and love affordable art that slaps hard. If you've got a bucket list, go ahead and pencil "attend SEAF while wearing fishnets" in there, and thank me later!
