Andres Serrano's A HISTORY OF SEX opens at The Erotic Museum April 14, 2005

The Erotic Museum presents a one-man show of images from the series A History of Sex by Andres Serrano for the first time on the West Coast. This new series of work, begun in Rome in 1995 and completed in Amsterdam in late 1996, explores the diversity of lifestyles and sexual practices of human beings. As in previous series by Serrano (Fluids, The Morgue, The Church, or Nomads), the artist is examining the larger issues of life: birth and death, bodily functions, social status, religion, ethnicity. In A History of Sex, Serrano sets out once again to put an aspect of human nature in stark relief.

The works are portraits, with an emphasis on individual character. Many of the titles bear the names of those who posed for the photographs, and in most works the subject or subjects look directly at the camera. This matter-of-fact stance of the subjects may seem in marked contrast to their actions. Perhaps this is because most sexual lives are conducted privately or perhaps because the issue of how sexual imagery and practice should be dealt with publicly is controversial and politicized.

Significantly, most of the subjects are not the buff-bodied, super-endowed humans of pornographic fare but ordinary people. Also portrayed are the elderly and those with unusual physical attributes (such as dwarves and contortionists), types that are not often associated with sexuality. Foremost was the artist?s concern that their personality and disposition be conveyed in their countenance and would not be overshadowed by the highly charged imagery. Serrano further shifted the emphasis away from the merely obscene by taking the sexual acts from the expected arenas of practice to pastoral settings such as a meadow or the sea.

The mission of The Erotic Museum is to educate the public about human sexuality by creating entertaining exhibitions regarding the broad range of mankind?s erotic endeavor through the ages. With over 6000 square feet of sexually-charged art, artifacts, interactive exhibits, multimedia and natural history, The Erotic Museum is the most stimulating museum in Hollywood. The permanent collection includes Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner, Pablo Picasso, Julian Murphy, Ancient Chinese Jade, Vintage Sex Education, The Erotic Hall of Fame, Hollywood Sex Gods and more.

A History of Sex opens at The Erotic Museum from April 14 to August 1, 2005.
Curated by Carlos Batts. Courtesy of the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

The Erotic Museum is located at 6741 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028.
Phone: 323 463 7684 / Fax: 323 463 7650 / Online: www.theeroticmuseum.com