Moist

Moist casts a long, slow look at sensuality, 
sexuality and eroticism in today’s art, giving free reign to desire. 

When I select work for a juried show, I try to be as diverse as possible in my selections—both in medium and content. It is perhaps more difficult to select work for a “themed” juried show as opposed to a general juried show, the latter of which tends to serve more as an overview to trends in contemporary art. Thus, I wanted my selections to be as cohesive as possible in adhering to the “Moist” theme. When I curate shows, I always start with a project in mind and select work that explores that project in great detail. However, this was the exact opposite—working backwards with the given work to try to present a curated and deliberate-looking exhibition.

However, I did not want to make the “obvious” choices; I was actually surprised at how heavy-handed and literal some artists took the theme of “Moist”. It’s not that I’m prudish but I wanted to ensure that the exhibition was accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, and was sophisticated without being vulgar and offensive. For example, it was interesting how many artworks were submitted of female forms, bereft of a head, completely objectifying women into an anonymous sex object. I was particularly surprised at the number of submissions falling into this category, as the interview that I did with the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art to publicize the exhibition was largely about my being a feminist. As such, all the figurative works I chose depicted complete figures with faces, to humanize and normalize our sexuality.

It was also important for me to select work that was representative of all media—craft, video, installation, painting, sculpture. I wanted the exhibition to have a mix of both technically-skilled and content-driven work. However, art is completely subjective and as such, there were many fantastic pieces that did not get in, while I’m sure there were some pieces I chose that will leave people questioning. It’s sometimes a good thing to leave people with more questions than answers.

--Ginger Shulick Porcella