"All our galleries, including ours, have been warned that we are prohibited from showing an erect penis...", began a warning of an unpublished ban on the portrayal of an erect penis which was included in the works of art by Andrey Bartenev.
This, and more, is detailed by artist and designer during an interview with the gay magazine "Kvir" (Queer). The September issue of the magazine contains a conversation with Bartenev in the wake of sensational exhibit "The Spoon of Kama sutra."
The exposition was devoted to the works of young artists on the theme of sexual energy in creativity. Not surprisingly, the event was not complete without the inclusion of some homosexual erotica.
As Bartenev admits, after the first day of the exhibit, in order to avoid scandals and conflicts, three works were removed: "At any moment we could be told, ‘Remove this.’ And we would remove it ... Any gallery visitor. Anyone who with an inkling to complain..."
Bans, however, do not interfere with artists ability to work with transparent symbols. Andrey Bartenev gave an example of a provocative author, Florian Graf, from Switzerland. His work was " ... the touching of a pointer finger with the head of a penis". "The work turned out quite funny ... The artist is simply obsessed with architecture and approached his work like a constructor. The result was "a pointing c*ck." "Lars," another work, created by Bartenev himself, "... Here a student of the drama department of the Norweigan Academy of Art is pictured, where iPod headphones appear out of a penis." Or the work of "Bob" Daria Marchik, which shows a male inflatable doll complete with inflatable penis."
All of these works, despite fears of the organizers of "The Spoon of Kama sutra," were left hanging until the end of the exhibit, which ended in mid-August. The September edition of "Kvir" offers the chance to take one last trip though the exhibit’s halls. The tour guide of the art is Andrey Bartenev himself.