Chris Crites is a local artist you've seen around town a lot -- he draws up a cover for the Stranger now and then and curates the shows at a Capitol Hill favourite, Joe Bar. When he's not doing either of those, he's showing with Aqua Art Miami, SAM Gallery (recently in the show with Troy Gua) , and artist collective Sideshow Fine Arts. And, as it happens, this weekend with the Seattle Erotic Art Festival!
Here's my conversation with Chris:
Whether or not it's conscious, people seem to expect a certain thing when they think of "erotic art". What was the greatest challenge or stereotype for you to overcome in making an erotic piece in your own voice?
For me it was the division between "hardcore" and "erotic". At first I wanted to do something really out there, really intense, but felt some restraint on not being too explicit. To me that is the point of erotic art, being sexy and not extreme.
These pieces are an exploration of the sensuality of the self. Not necessarily masturbation, but that fact that everyone is inherently sexy. I don't think I am trying to tell any story, just showing what simple pleasure can be I suppose.
You mention the point of erotic art for you is to be sexy and not extreme. Is it important for us to have the room to imagine, to not have it explicitly spelled out for us? Is the sexy part imagining what occurs outside the frame?
I think so, yes. Letting the imagination run wild sometimes can be more arousing and interesting than seeing what is really there. At least for me. The pieces I did for this year's festival deliberately play on that idea, that you can't quite tell what is happening beyond what I chose to show.
What differs for you in creating a scene for the erotic pieces versus a scene for the mugshots? Does it bring a different energy to your process? If so, can you tell us a little more about it?
Since most of my work is of a different intensity, criminal or police portraits yes, the energy is quite different. My mug shot work is selected by how the subject engages me and how intense I feel a connection to the particular face. With erotic work it feels much more open. There is so much more material to work with, a broader range of ideas if you will. I had a difficult time this year. The past couple of years I have painted several nudes but really wanted something different for the festival. Working on erotic work is more relaxing than staring at an image that is constantly staring back as with my portrait work. I chose to keep the pieces this year in my tightly rendered style, but it was just more fun than what I usually paint.
What would happen if you were to combine the mug shots with sexy scenes. Would it cause a subterranean rift? Would it be too powerful or would we be able to handle it? (in a more serious tone, where do you see the progression of your erotic works leading in the future?)
I have been thinking quite a bit actually about the combination and it's effect. I would like to do more paintings with multiple things going on, whether it is a nude or erotic scene with a mug shot or crime scene or accident, piling layers of meaning. However, I want to be careful that it is not taken as a story of a sex crime or lover violence. It would have to be the right balance. There is so much violence against women, homosexuals and transgender people in the world, I certainly don't want my work to be misconstrued as glorifying that violence. There are many subjects I want to display in order to get people in general to think about these topics but it might be my own boundaries that have kept me from combining them so far. I have painted rapists and I have painted prostitutes. Finding the appropriate way to bridge my work with these varied subjects is one of the challenges keeping me from doing more so far. That, along with having the proper venue to display the results. Who knows what can happen.
What do you most look forward to in this year's Seattle Erotic Art Festival?
The fact that it is back! I missed the one night gala last year and look forward to a bigger and more exciting event this year. Looking forward to seeing all the excellent work.
Give us one thing you think is unexpectedly sexy:
Not that it is "unexpectedly" sexy, but I think boots and a skirt is a damn sexy combo.
Chris, thank you for such an introspective dialogue!
Please visit SeattleErotic.Org to read up on the artists, Festival calendar, and performances.
Here's my conversation with Chris:
Whether or not it's conscious, people seem to expect a certain thing when they think of "erotic art". What was the greatest challenge or stereotype for you to overcome in making an erotic piece in your own voice?
For me it was the division between "hardcore" and "erotic". At first I wanted to do something really out there, really intense, but felt some restraint on not being too explicit. To me that is the point of erotic art, being sexy and not extreme.
These pieces are an exploration of the sensuality of the self. Not necessarily masturbation, but that fact that everyone is inherently sexy. I don't think I am trying to tell any story, just showing what simple pleasure can be I suppose.
You mention the point of erotic art for you is to be sexy and not extreme. Is it important for us to have the room to imagine, to not have it explicitly spelled out for us? Is the sexy part imagining what occurs outside the frame?
I think so, yes. Letting the imagination run wild sometimes can be more arousing and interesting than seeing what is really there. At least for me. The pieces I did for this year's festival deliberately play on that idea, that you can't quite tell what is happening beyond what I chose to show.
What differs for you in creating a scene for the erotic pieces versus a scene for the mugshots? Does it bring a different energy to your process? If so, can you tell us a little more about it?
Since most of my work is of a different intensity, criminal or police portraits yes, the energy is quite different. My mug shot work is selected by how the subject engages me and how intense I feel a connection to the particular face. With erotic work it feels much more open. There is so much more material to work with, a broader range of ideas if you will. I had a difficult time this year. The past couple of years I have painted several nudes but really wanted something different for the festival. Working on erotic work is more relaxing than staring at an image that is constantly staring back as with my portrait work. I chose to keep the pieces this year in my tightly rendered style, but it was just more fun than what I usually paint.
What would happen if you were to combine the mug shots with sexy scenes. Would it cause a subterranean rift? Would it be too powerful or would we be able to handle it? (in a more serious tone, where do you see the progression of your erotic works leading in the future?)
I have been thinking quite a bit actually about the combination and it's effect. I would like to do more paintings with multiple things going on, whether it is a nude or erotic scene with a mug shot or crime scene or accident, piling layers of meaning. However, I want to be careful that it is not taken as a story of a sex crime or lover violence. It would have to be the right balance. There is so much violence against women, homosexuals and transgender people in the world, I certainly don't want my work to be misconstrued as glorifying that violence. There are many subjects I want to display in order to get people in general to think about these topics but it might be my own boundaries that have kept me from combining them so far. I have painted rapists and I have painted prostitutes. Finding the appropriate way to bridge my work with these varied subjects is one of the challenges keeping me from doing more so far. That, along with having the proper venue to display the results. Who knows what can happen.
What do you most look forward to in this year's Seattle Erotic Art Festival?
The fact that it is back! I missed the one night gala last year and look forward to a bigger and more exciting event this year. Looking forward to seeing all the excellent work.
Give us one thing you think is unexpectedly sexy:
Not that it is "unexpectedly" sexy, but I think boots and a skirt is a damn sexy combo.
Chris, thank you for such an introspective dialogue!
Please visit SeattleErotic.Org to read up on the artists, Festival calendar, and performances.
Chris Crites, Don't Limit Your Pleasure (detail) 2009 acrylic on paper bagimage courtesy of the artist
Chris Crites, Breaking and Entering. Theft. Resisting Arrest 2007 acrylic on paper bagimage courtesy of the artist
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