New Kinsey exhibit portrays ‘pleasure’

“Women of Pleasure,” an exhibit exploring the erotic depiction of women in 18th- and 19th-century European art and literature will open tomorrow at the Kinsey Institute Gallery. \nThe exhibit, which includes 50 paintings, photographs, lithographs, etchings and watercolors, was planned to correspond with a conference on 18th- and 19th-century women writers planned by the IU English Department, said Catherine Johnson-Roehr, curator at the Kinsey Institute Gallery.\n“We usually come up with our own ideas, but when departments are having a special conference, they sometimes ask us to do something interesting for them,” Johnson-Roehr said. “In lieu of having pieces by women, we decided to put up pieces that depict women from the 18th- and 19th- century.”\nThe exhibit takes its name from “Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure,” a 1749 erotic novel by the British author John Cleland, which was sold underground in England and banned for obscenity in the U.S., said Johnson-Roehr. The importance of the book is underscored by the 1966 Supreme Court case, Memoirs v. Massachusetts, where the court lifted the ban because “the social value of the book can neither be weighed against nor canceled by its prurient appeal or patent offensiveness,” according to the decision written by Justice William Brennan. \nOne of the highlights of the exhibit is a pair of prints by William Hogarth, an 18th-century British painter who was famous for his prints showing a jaded view of society, Johnson-Roehr said. “Before” depicts a woman resisting a gentleman’s sexual advances in her bedroom. The print contains mixed images of piety and sexuality. “After” presents the conclusion of their sexual encounter. The curtain rod on the bed is pulled down, the man is pulling up his pants with a startled look in his eyes, the woman is pleading for the man to stay and a dog is sleeping on the floor.\n“These two are the treasures of the exhibit,” Johnson-Roehr said. “They’re typical Hogarth in that they have so many details that tell the story.”\nOther pieces include “The Curiosity,” a French lithograph from the 1830s, which depicts a woman dressed in fine clothing urinating in the woods while a gentleman discreetly looks on, and “My Dear Plaything,” a French, hand-colored lithograph from the mid-19th century of a woman combing her pubic hair with a golden comb and holding a dildo. The image seems to be questioning whether the woman or the dildo is the plaything, Johnson-Roehr said . \nShe said that the goal of the exhibit is to open peoples’ eyes to the eroticism that existed during this \ntime period.\n“For anyone who thinks the art work coming out of the 18th and 19th centuries isn’t as sexually explicit as what’s on the internet today, people would be surprised that the artwork was quite erotic, even by today’s standards,” she said.\nThe opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday on the second floor of Morrison Hall. Normal gallery hours are 2 to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.