This exhibition explores the history of queer sex work culture, and its intimate ties to art and activism. Coined by bisexual activist, Carol Leigh, aka. The Scarlot Harlot in 1978, ‘sex work’ is broadly defined as exchanging sex or erotic services for gain and connotes personal agency and politicized action. More than a portrait of life at the margins, what emerges in this exhibit is a demonstration of queer and transgender sex workers’ deep community building, creative organizing, self-empowerment, identity/desire affirmation and healing and the use of pornography as a deft tool for queer and trans liberation.
ON OUR BACKS: The Revolutionary Art of Queer Sex Work
Angelo Madsen Minax, Live Nude Genitals, 2012. Neon and Plexiglas, 36 x 36 inches. Photo by Kristine Eudey, 2019, courtesy of Leslie-Lohman Museum, New York.
Leon Mostovoy. From the “Market Street Cinema” series, 1987 – 1988. Silver gelatin print.
“The Foundation supports the broadest spectrum of contemporary art practice in this country, from full-scale retrospectives at major institutions to the independent projects organized by members of Common Field. Common Field mobilizes and serves a woefully under-recognized community of experimental artists and creative instigators who are the life blood of the contemporary art world”
Joel Wachs, President