In the 1940’s an American author named Anais Nin wrote female erotica for a wealthy male patron, she wrote if for a $1.00 per page. He ordered her to “leave out the poetry” but she couldn’t. The New York Times book review asked “what is the impact of these erotica today? Are the stories obscene? Do they divorce sex from feeling? ” I think these questions are still applicable in our contemporary culture nearly 75 years on and in a much broader context. Anais Nins ‘Delta of Venus’ was a radical move for a female writer of that time, breaking boundaries of the language of female sexuality.
I often work in response to the written or spoken word, often combining personal writing with photographs or drawing … literature and theatre are ongoing influences. This digital image combines an excerpt from the Delta of Venus and is a self-portrait as Mathilde, one of the characters from the book. This is my way of paying homage to Anais Nin in celebration of International Women’s Day.
I’ve just entered this piece into a competition on the Womens Erotic Art site, this is open to all national and international artists and a great opportunity to get work out there, click the link if you have work to enter …
www.womenseroticart.com/art.php?view=130&RowStep=24#sthash.EVAO8hDB.dpbs
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