[Nettime-bold] Snow Blossom Critique - Lichty Response

[Patrick Lichty <voyd@voyd.com>]

Thanks to Anne-Marie for her reference to the LuckyKiss show.  I still love the
show, even to this day.

In my earlier critique of the show, I am thinking that perhaps I was originally
imbued with some misperceptions regarding the scope of the curatorial vision. 
In reading the original call for works and in fairly extensive discussions with
Blackhawk regarding the show, what I saw was not what was expected.  Perhaps
this is actually good that an exhibition surprised me.  An erotic Kisikae show
per se was not expected, but from all materials that were distributed to _me_,
I had expected a show that featured eroticism  that was based around the
cultural matrix surrounding erotic anime, manga, kisikae, and influenced works.

Als likely mispercieved was the centrality of the net as community (except for
the Kisikae community, as described by Blackhawk in his essay) as key element
in this exhibit.  It was my perception that except for the community factor,
the net was being discounted as a primary influence, and was more influenced by
the overall electronic mediascape.  Once again, this misperception may have
come from Blackhawk's remarks on Thingist.   

If the historical aspects of the exhibit fell outside the scope of the show,
that's perfectly understandable.  My passion for the genre cried out for a
little greater contextualization so that viewers could have a greater
appreciation of the rich tradition, such as the shunga genre of ukiyo-e print
from which hentai imagery can claim heritage,  that many of the forms in this
show can come from.   

In regards to the more 'open source' curatorial vision of the show, this is one
that I obviously should have picked up on from the start, and is a perfect
explanation for the occasional fuzziness in the curatorial focus, and under
such a model, like the web, one would expect a more decentralized, 'fuzzy'
approach to the genre of online eroticism.

In addressing my critique concerning the male centered gaze in online
eroticism, your point is well put.  The Leisure Suit Larry set of pieces is
probably justified as a tired male trope. However, I think my interest in some
rather substantial subgenres support my surprise in their lack of
representation.  I understand that many shows cannot address all subjects
within a genre, and that these genres may not have presented themselves for
presentation.  However, a curious matter in regards to the construction of the
erotic is a number of anime shows that have inspired numerous hentai doujinshi
(unofficial erotic comics), as well as the authors of some of the less-known
but influential subgenre, Yaoi (gay), literature are female (Takahashi, et
al).  

In addition, the community of the 3D Virtual Idol in Japanese electronic art,
not to be conflated with the recent explosion of Poser-based erotic art, some
of which is showcased in SBH, has a significant female component (one of Noriko
Meguro's Angel Circuit series watches over me, with gamine grace and diaphanous
clothing).  As I have yet to fully understand the female component in the
construction of the 'virtual girlfriend' beyond the female empowerment of
creating their own pop idols or the female's exploration of self-referential
construction of identity in cyberspace, it would have been interesting to have
seen the juxtaposition between the more explicit American approach with the
more metaphorical approach of many Japanese artists.

Congratulations on a fine show, and I apologize for any misperceptions on my
part in regards to some aspects of the curatorial vision.  To have that
expanded upon has changed my opinion in regards to the execution of the show,
but it was not quite as obvious when visiting the exhibition.

All my best,
Patrick  
  


>you may refer Patrick Lichty to the luckykiss show. 
>http://www.opensorcery.net/luckykiss_xxx/


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