Throughout the Seattle Erotic Art Festival weekend, we hope to expose all of our guests to art that not only excites and energizes them, but reaches out to them, connects with them. We find this to be particularly poignant – and sometimes literal – with our Installations.
So what is installation art? Well, it can be any piece of art that comes together on site at the festival. In the past this has taken the form of sculpture gardens, special furniture designed to both excite and invite, alcoves in which to watch short films, and more. The most common feature among the art installations is that they have to be experienced – it is a sight or a sound or performance that is happening in that space and in that moment. Many of our installation pieces will cease to exist once they are disassembled after the festival. We would like to introduce you to these pieces and their artists.
Zebra by Paul Detwiler
A short film that’s an exploration of the complex emotional and erotic landscapes navigated by two men, illustrating the multiple dimensions underlying their relations in an aggressive but loving dynamic, when individuality is lost and bodies merge into a totemic figure of animalistic sensuality and desire. Based on the poem by Ronald Aden Alexander.
Gender Fluid by Takako and Andy Cargile
Gender Fluid invites viewers to renegotiate the idea of gender and the assumptions we uphold, which are deeply seeded in different global social ideologies. Viewers are challenged to play along with their initial impulse to assume gender profile. This exhibit originated in a discussion after Takako was banned on Facebook because she showed before and after photos of a friend who had top surgery. It was the before image that got her banned.
Rattle Baby by Thomas McFarland and Andy Cooperman
Rattle Baby is a collaboration between metalsmith Andy Cooperman and designer Thomas McFarland. Thomas was tasked with embodying motion to bring Andy’s work to life. The piece was initially designed to startle and throw the viewer off balance, to invoke the kind of feeling catching something moving out of the corner of your eye, but it became obvious that there was something a bit more blue in the shaking and shimmying of the orange rattle.
Electric Orgasm by Ronald Simmer
The Electric Orgasm is an interactive infinity mirror installation simulating a female sexual orgasm. The work consists of “Neon” LED rope embedded in a large triangular light sculpture. programmed to operate in two modes – standby slow pulsing mode and interactive rapture mode. When viewers approach it sensors will trigger a sequence of colored entangled strip lights to produce the effect of a rapidly escalating physical climax.
Love Letters to Sex Work by Sierra Cirque
Where is the love for the sex industry? Drop by the Love Letters to Sex Work installation and read messages written by sex professionals written about their career. And take a seat to write your own love note to tuck into one of many authentically hard-earned envelopes.
Washi kankaku: Paper Senses by Madame Umbra
Explore the sensation of Washi, meaning “Japanese Paper”. You are invited to experience the intimacy of handcrafted paper and share your experience from the sensation of touching, smelling and admiring a new paper that could be chosen to become the next creation. Each evening the artist will select a paper that has been experienced by our guests and quickly create a painting using Japanese Inks and other mediums. What sensations will you have?
With Pleasure by David Keogh with Samara Lerman and Adam Kardos
As part of a documentary film project, the artist invited their community to be filmed engaging in unscripted scenes of their choosing, with the only guidelines being a focus on authentic expressions of kink, sex, and sensuality. This installation features an interactive display that allows participants to experience these scenes, including moments of intimacy, vulnerability, humor, grief, and deep connection.
Kinky Doll House by Claire Dietrich
A doll house for the kinky kid inside you! Explore some of the kinky possibilities with these consenting play things. Toys, outfits, and equipment available to you. Follow the house rules and enjoy yourself!
From Drawing to Sculpture by Ronnie Werner
From Drawing to Sculpture is a look into the creative process behind Pin Up and Erotic artist Ronnie Werner’s sculptures. With his model Merrique, Ronnie will create a new sculpture live during the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.
Cyber Seraphim by Rich Miller
New York based Muralist Rich Miller aka FilthyRich will be live painting an interactive mural titled Cyber Seraphim. Each attendee can pose with this six-winged cyber angel and share an erotic selfie showcasing your sexy future feathers or come by for a professional photo!
Siren Song imagined by Drea Talley
A performer strives to captivate their audience, to create a microcosm of intimacy that links the two. In the spirit of the Song Bird project from SEAF 2018, Siren Song wishes to build and refine that moment of intimacy that exists only for the span of a song.
Come to the Side Show stage and take a risk. Listen to the Siren and let yourself be drawn in, and know that you will be released but you may also be forever changed.
Dirty Minds by Sabina Boehm
Reach into a blind box and experience a glass sculpture solely through touch before getting a glance of what it really is. What is your mind telling you that you are feeling? How far astray from reality did your dirty mind lead you?
Consent Lounge sponsored by the Consent Academy
This year, the Consent Academy is hosting a comfortable lounge and safe space for festival patrons. Enjoy an inviting space with plush seating, have a cup of tea, and join great conversations about consent. Consent advocates and volunteers will be on hand to answer your questions and inquiries.
Consent Tea Practice facilitated by Phoenix Tea
Join Phoenix Tea in the Consent Lounge as they conduct an informal tea practice that will serve as the perfect environment for a small group of patrons to gather around a table and engage in unscripted communal conversations centering on the topic of consent. Each day of the festival, 8 participants will sit at the tea table and enjoy multiple rounds of tea. As the flavor of the tea leaves unfurl, so will the conversation. Spectators are welcome to listen in on the conversations. Tickets for a seat at the tea table can be purchased here.
Come experience these installations before the festival closes and they fade into memory and art history.