My Naughty Valentine: 5th Annual Erotic Art Exhibit

A shrine dedicated to former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff; male and female figures that look like they belong on the doors of a restroom, that feature thought bubbles with pictures of minivans, children, half naked women and a ruler, the latter set of pictures stemming from the male figures head; a giant recreation of a 16th Century painting of Cupid. These are just some of the past and present entries that have been submitted for the Fifth Annual Erotic Art exhibit, hosted by the Upfront Gallery.

Follow Broadway past the busy bars and restaurants, past all of the shops and storefronts, and you will find a yellow building next to a barber shop: the Upfront Gallery. While it doesn’t look like much on the outside, spend one minute on the inside and you will change your mind. Creativity floats through the atmosphere as you stroll through the Gallery.

The Gallery is fielding phone calls and drop-offs for the show. Pieces already submitted line the counter and the surrounding walls. A couple of days before the submission deadline the gallery was abuzz with a constantly ringing telephone and traffic going in and out. Last minute entries were scrambling to make it before the deadline.

“We asked for entries that had anything dealing with it, but we put a filter on it so that offensive works didn’t get out. It’s just intended to be a celebration of basic human love in a lot of ways,” said James Wolberg, a ceramics artist who also runs the gallery. “The basic emphasis for living is procreation for the most part. It’s something to be celebrated and not ashamed of.”

Many museums strive to provide a place to celebrate human achievement and educate the public. Museums dedicated to social issues strive to provide glimpses into a certain aspects of life that reach exclusive groups of people. The exhibit at the gallery is trying to blend both education and achievement with something everyone can relate to.

The content of the exhibit reaches across all aspects of human life. Sexuality is something that should be embraced. It isn’t something to be ashamed of and it should be celebrated. The idea of what is deemed appropriate or inappropriate behavior has come a long way. An erotic art exhibit would not take place in the front of a store in downtown Fargo during the 1950s. It is a sign of the changing times.

And that’s the whole focus of the exhibit. The Gallery called for area artists to submit their best erotic works, spanning a variety of media. So what exactly is deemed erotic? Well, that is left up to the artist to interpret.

Romance and Valentines Day have long been associated with heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, tiny heart-shaped candies with sayings stamped into them, and a dozen red roses. Nowadays the conventional idea of what is considered erotic has changed. Couples are going to strip clubs and sex boutiques where they can explore the idea of what is erotic to them. Maybe your partner would favor a pair of edible undies for Valentine’s Day instead of a box of candies.
“I find that something done in the celebration of that aspect of human relations is erotic,” said Wolberg.

Entries cover a wide variety of aspects of eroticism but most are humorous. Focus is often on the comical side; One example is the David Hasselhoff shrine from last year’s Exhibit.

“Some of the pieces are widely entertaining. It’s not done to make fun of anybody or anything like that. It’s just laughing at ourselves, really,” said Wolberg after insisting that he didn’t find David Hasselhoff erotic.

In past years, the entertainment at the reception included burlesque. There was once a backwards strip tease: a girl started off wearing vintage underwear and ended up putting all of her clothes on.

“It was based on a Vaudeville kind of entertainment with a sexy twist, but it was mostly humorous. It’s a comical, fun celebration that’s supposed to be friendly and it’s not supposed to be pornographic. It’s not in the league of a peep show; it’s in the league of an art show with a sexy and romantic vibe,” said Wolberg.
Interest in the show keeps growing every year and that, to Wolberg, is the most exciting part of the show. “I’m excited to see the quality of work that shows up. It keeps getting better every year we do this.” Apart from the quality of work, the variety of people that submit work continues to surprise.

The entertainment for this year’s reception, taking place on Valentines Day, is yet to be announced, mostly because the organizers don’t have anything set up quite yet. “We don’t have a burlesque show this year like we did the past couple of years,” said Wolberg, sighting a lack of space as the main reason. Once the entertainment is finalized an announcement will be made. The reception will provide food and refreshments for guests.

In the future the gallery hopes to branch the show out into a bigger venue with more space. “We’re looking forward in the next couple of years to move the entertainment out and do different venues so that we can have a little bit more of an elaborate show,” said Wolberg.

More artists have been branching out from their normal styles to submit a piece in the month-long exhibit. Perhaps it’s the fun nature of the show or the opportunity to explore human sexuality and relationships artistically that keeps bringing people back each year.

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If You Go

What: Reception, 5th Annual Erotic Art Exhibit
Where: Upfront Gallery
When: Feb.14 from 6-10 p.m.
How Much: Free of charge