Erotic Art by Love Art Lab’s Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens
EXPOSED: Experiments in Love, Sex, Death and Art
from the Love Art Lab of Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens
(Photo Credits: Julian Cash, Charles Gatewood, David Steinberg, and Lori Gordon)
What happens when former porn star, sexologist and performance artist Annie Sprinkle falls madly in love with experimental artist, professor and sexy dyke playboy Elizabeth Stephens? They create a theater/performance art show about their relationship exploring artificial insemination, breast cancer treatments, queer weddings, art experiments, aging, sexuality and more. As a response to the war, anti-gay marriage sentiment and the politics of breast cancer, Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens invite everyone to a genuine celebration and critical public exploration of the deepest realms of romantic, sexual and familial love to bring about positive social change.
Artist Statement
The war is still raging and so is the love art laboratory. In our second year we are exploring creativity and sexuality in some new, productive and exciting ways. We aim to go deep inside our second chakra, and to use our discoveries to inspire others on their quests.
We completed our first year of survival and security by facing death together. What could have destroyed our relationship ended up making us even stronger, more secure and ambitious. We are less afraid of death and even happier to be alive. We are more committed to spreading love through our art to address the critical social and political issues that we face as individuals and as a society. We still believe in the old adage that the “personal is political.
We find hope in our happiness and creativity. We act locally, making art to spread love to our communities and to make the world a better and more beautiful place. Our work becomes larger than our personal relationship. This last year we produced our theater piece, “Exposed; Experiments in Love, Art, Sex and Death. We performed “Cuddle, ” in numerous venues around the world, we’ve lectured in over a dozen museums, universities, colleges and even gave a Love Art sermon at a Unitarian church. We have exhibited our visual art in numerous galleries. And through our free Sidewalk Sex Clinics we have answered a wide range of questions about sex, love and life.
Wedding by wedding we aim to help bring about positive social change. We hope to inspire others to celebrate and explore their creativity and sexuality in order to activate their individual and collective agency in the world.
This year we are honored to have the brilliant sexologist Carol Queen officiate our vows. For our second wedding we will collaborate with our guests, most of whom are artists, academics, and sex workers. These collaborations will be credited on our website and the ephemera will be installed in our gallery exhibitions. We will also collaborate and spread our love online with others via a live web cast. This can all be viewed on our web site www.loveartlab.org.
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