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Art: A Sex Book Paperback – Bargain Price, October 1, 2003

by John Waters (Author), Bruce Hainley (Author)

4.6 22 ratings

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Cult film director John Waters and art critic and curator Bruce Hainley offer a provocative and personal interpretation of the theme of sex and sexuality in art. They have selected a wide range of works, from graphic depictions of the body to abstract images suggesting or inviting different ideas of the erotic, and have arranged them into "rooms" just as in a real exhibition. Andy Warhol, Larry Clark, Richard Kern, Sarah Lucas, Cy Twombly, Lily van der Stokker, Jeff Burton, Karen Kilimnik and Paul McCarthy are just some of the 70 well known artists in the book, which includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and video. The authors talk about their selection in a frank and elucidating conversation, presented in three parts. They consider many of the issues thrown up by the art and discuss - with humour and seriousness alike - how it reflects attitudes towards sex and the body.

About the Author

With hits such as Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, Serial Mom and Pecker, John Waters - dubbed by William Burroughs 'the Pope of Trash' - has consistently shocked, outraged and amused film audiences around the world. He is about to start shooting a film about sex addicts. Bruce Hainley is the author of monographs on Christopher Makos and Tom Friedman and is a contributing editor of Artforum.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Thames & Hudson
Publication date

October 1, 2003
Dimensions

9.22 x 8.4 x 0.81 inches
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0058M82VE
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thames & Hudson (October 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.22 x 8.4 x 0.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,835,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,259 in Pop Culture Art
- #9,299 in Deals in Books
- #16,390 in Arts & Photography Criticism

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4.6 22 ratings

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John Waters
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John Waters is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist best known for his cult films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Cecil B. DeMented. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Bruce Hainley
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Prins

Waters' Humor at it's finest

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2013

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When it comes to bad taste, John Waters certainly has the best. He is an amazing photographer who captures some very real and occasionally unappealing images that will make you reconsider the boundary between sex art and pornography. A must have for anyone who loves filth with a twist of smut.

3 people found this helpful

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baby nightsoil

Art enough, Sex not enough

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2013

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While I enjoyed this book, I really expected something filthier from John Waters. He should release one of these every year. I'd be happy to help him curate it. If you like sex in art, you should check out sexinart.com It has a lot more of what I expected from this book.

4 people found this helpful

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Erick Rasmussen

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2015

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John Waters is brilliant.

One person found this helpful

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Spiderbaby Fastwolf

Brilliant art discourse~

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2009

Amazingly informed and intelligent art discussion between two bright, subversive gentlemen; Bruce Hainley, writer, curator and art critic and John Waters, director of such great cult classics as Female Trouble.

Their conversations introduce the reader to wide range of artists working in many different media, many of them well informed by LAs seedy past and gay culture.

For anyone looking for a sharp witty overview of the names to watch in contemporary art, this is incredibly accessible yet never dumbs down its subject.

The only problem? Now I want to collect works by everyone they described...

5 people found this helpful

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Batfan

trashy fun

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2005

Though Waters is more celebrated as a film maker, his touch is clearly visible in these intervened photographs. I simply Adored Waters here: without the usual hanky panky the art intelligentsia loads upon us, common folk, his photos are a breath of fresh air in the toilet bowl that is the contemporary art scene.

Salut, roger!

8 people found this helpful

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Becca Van Kollenburg

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2014

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love john waters, really good art in here!

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close reader

A matter of taste

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2010

Taste is, of course, a concept to be ridiculed in the world of John Waters. But because this publication reflects his taste (or deliberate lack of it), the concept is relevant in discussing the book. In Waters' world, sex is dirty (filthy is his preferred term), sneaky, subversive, and/or boring. These are not my evaluations; he states all these things quite clearly, either in his words or films. So if you think art and/or sex(iness) is represented by photos of a woman defecating on the floor, you might be delighted by this book. Or if something as scintillating as a blank sheet of paper strikes you as sexy, this is for you.

But even if the illustrations bore you or turn you off (as many of them do me), you might still find the text--a series of dialogs between Waters and Bruce Hainley--to be of interest. He has some very interesting and worthwile things to say, and should not be totally dismissed by those who have other ideas about art or sex.

7 people found this helpful

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University Doc

Where's the sex? Where the art? Waste of my money here.

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013

First, allow me to say that I love art in all its shapes, images and forms whether it be a painting or a photograph or a sculpture. This book, however, misses on all areas of both art and sex. In fact, the title is way misleading. I should have read the reviews here before purchasing it for my significant other and I to enjoy and I wouldn't have wasted my money or time or effort. Art is for varies tastes. For me, this book had no taste; it had no art and it definitely had no sex.
Overall, I didn't like it. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be and on that basis, I can't recommend it. I'll donate my copy of sell it on eBay. Again, where's the art? Where's the sex? It's basically garbage. I can't believe something like this gets published.

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