Art: A Sex Book

With hits such as Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom, and Pecker, John Waters has consistently shocked, outraged, and amused movie audiences around the world. Feted for his singular and controversial vision, he has been described by William S. Burroughs as the "Pope of Trash" and by Time magazine as the "Sultan of Shock." Now Waters has teamed up with acclaimed art critic and curator Bruce Hainley to offer a unique, provocative, and personal interpretation of sex and sexuality today through the window of contemporary art. Andy Warhol, Larry Clark, Richard Kern, Sarah Lucas, Cy Twombly, Lily van der Stokker, Vincent Fecteau, Karen Kilimnik, and Paul McCarthy are among the seventy well-known artists whose work they have selected. "Contemporary art is sex...it's all about sex," Waters tells us in the introduction, and in the book he and Hainley have chosen and carefully arranged a wide selection of recent works, from startling graphic depictions of the body and sexual acts to abstract images suggesting or inviting different ideas and concepts of the erotic. In a frank and often hilarious conversation, presented in three parts, the authors talk about their choices and explain the pairing and juxtaposition of the works. Along the way, they consider many of the issues raised by the art and discusswith humor and seriousness alikehow art reflects attitudes toward sex and the body in today's world. Questionnaires devised by Waters and Hainley for the artists offer further insights into sex and its relationship with art, while the authors' lists of favorite "sex reads" provide inspiration for further reading. This remarkable and original book will appeal to anyone interested in exploring the place of sex within contemporary society, and in discovering how sex inspires and challenges today's leading artists. 176 illustrations, 143 in color.