Dirty Talk, Nudity in Art, Culture, and the Digital

About

DIRTY TALK: Nudity in Art, Culture, and the Digital

Janna Shaw * Daisy Nikoloska * Heyd Fontenot

Join us at SomoS for "DIRTY TALK: Considering Nudity in Art, Culture, and the Digital," an engaging panel discussion that delves into the evolving perspectives on the nude body within the realms of sexuality, contemporary art, digital culture, and age-old wisdom.

On Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 7 pm, SomoS Arts proudly hosts a panel discussion, set against the backdrop of multidisciplinary American artist Heyd Fontenot's evocative solo exhibition When I Think about a Minotaur. The exhibition boldly reexamines the inherent queerness of mythology and challenges both traditional as well as contemporary perspectives on masculinity and nudity.

Joining Fontenot in this intellectually stimulating dialog are esteemed American writer Janna Shaw and British writer, curator, and mixed-media artist Daisy Nikoloska, with Nikoloska also serving as moderator. This dynamic trio, each bringing their unique professional insights, promises to delve deeply into nuanced discussions around the portrayal and perception of the naked form beyond the conventional and heteronormative gaze.

The panel will explore the multifaceted roles of religion, culture, gender, media, virtuality, and the internet in shaping contemporary attitudes towards nudity. Can the nude form, often shrouded in taboo and overt sexualization in today's society, be reclaimed as a symbol of liberation, empowered vulnerability, and intimacy?

Janna Shaw, an American writer and consultant with a rich background in philosophy and aesthetics, brings her profound understanding of Jungian archetypes, symbology, and sexuality to the table. Shaw's diverse editorial experience and insightful contributions to culture and art publications will undoubtedly enrich the discussion with a critical, contemporary focus.

Daisy Nikoloska, a writer, curator, and mixed-media artist known for her digital prowess and erotic interpretations of cyborg feminism, bridges the gap between the analog and digital worlds, as well as academe and pop. Her unique perspective on visual culture and modern media, coupled with her academic achievements in Art History and Visual Culture, positions her perfectly to moderate this discussion.

This event promises an engaging and enlightening exchange, inviting audience participation and questions. Admission is free, and we eagerly anticipate welcoming an audience ready to engage with these vital contemporary issues.

Join us for an evening of lively, insightful conversation at SomoS Arts!

Participants:

Janna Shaw

Janna Shaw (1988) is an American writer, brand soothsayer, and part-time Madame-at-Large. She studied Philosophy with an emphasis on Aesthetics at Columbia University in New York and moved to Berlin in 2017. She was formerly an editor of Numero Berlin and Fräulein Magazine, and now serves as an editor and columnist for TITLE. Shaw is also a culture contributor to Autre Magazine, and her bylines can be found in a number of publications needing words derived from the fields of the Dark Arts. Her work is inspired by her own personal reckonings and research on Jungian archetypes, archaic symbology, notions of Situationism, the Sublime, and sexuality in all its own shapes and dissents.

Daisy Nikoloska

Daisy Nikoloska is a writer, curator, and mixed-media artist. Originally from rural southwest England, she currently has one foot in Berlin and one foot online, where she goes by the alias Hitachi Blonde and is best known for her erotic reimaginings of cyborg feminism in meme form. Stubbornly situated in the frictive space between analogue and digital, her playful approach to media is emphasized in her digital installation A Labour of Lists with rosy.DX GmbH in 2021, where she first presented her prized collection of discarded shopping lists. Her poetry can be found in The Broadsheet and the third issue of Noia magazine. She received a first-class honours degree in Art History, Visual Culture and English from the University of Exeter, and is currently working towards a master’s degree in Anglophone Modernities at the University of Potsdam.

Heyd Fontenot

Renowned multidisciplinary artist Heyd Fontenot, originally from Louisiana, is now immersed in Berlin's vibrant art scene through an extended residency at SomoS. With a dynamic career spanning various roles - from experimental filmmaker in the 1990s to designer, art director, producer, painter, curator, and director of the Central Trak Artists Residency at The University of Texas at Dallas and Sala Diaz / Casa Chuck Exhibition Space & Artist Residency, San Antonio - Fontenot's artistic journey is marked by versatility and a multidisciplinary approach. His work, celebrated for its empathy and humor, challenges societal norms by respectfully and candidly exploring themes of nudity, human vulnerability, and identity. Fontenot's art, recognized for its thought-provoking nature, has earned acclaim across the United States, with exhibitions at prominent venues such as the Galveston Arts Center in Texas.