Sexual Recession...

I checked out a private collection of Helmut Newton's work presented last week in Bremen. Great work, yet the exhibit is still considered very controversial

Last night hosted a very enthusiastic conversation on the subject of how women are still being portrayed in today's society. A female friend of mine expressed her disappointment with how sex is presented in the media, transforming modernism into a seemingly backwards direction, with brainwashing effects.

"We are suppose to be a modern society, however it feels like we've reached a cretin point, and stopped. We remain in the same place."

The exhibit hosed several of Newton's photographs from a private collection, spanning his time in professional photography (roughly 1970-2002). In his defense, I reminded her that Newton was one of if not the first photographer to present/document the female body in his unique way. I also reminded her that there wereother artists as early as the 1600's that featured the nude female body in their work that was once considered renowned works of art. I told her that exposing life, what is seen and what is unseen no matter how over done is worthy of presentation for the sake of art and exploration (in a tasteful light).

Shifting her argument from the work of Helmut Newton, she continued to discuss how magazines, television, and other forms of media that push the age old argument of what a "perfect" woman is spouse to look like. She also included that as early as the 1600's nude males were confided worthy of documentation in art as well; however today, men have taken a distant backseat to women.

"Most of what we are exposed to is not sex, its pornography!"

I then began to ponder what seemed to be a decent subject for a theses..

Could it be that in the time of empires, and rugged expansion the male body (i.e sculpture David, and other various works) correlated with growth that took place? and now that we have reached a "remedial" point in society, are we are wading in a repetitive pool of sex presented over and over again (needs revising)?

From David, to Rose The Riveter, we now have Britney Spears..

We are all familiar with the term "Sex Sells", but has sex been simplified to universal symbol represented by the female body?