photo: Majdi Laktinah.
Censorship in digital spaces is pushing against a zeitgeist of sexual diversity and sex-positivity. It establishes a dangerous moral code, especially among younger users. iHeartBerlin’s latest exhibition #UncensoredBerlin centers on those representations of the human body that are affected by digital censorship and offers the participating artists a unique platform to express themselves freely.
“Your post has been removed as it doesn’t follow our community guidelines.” – For many users of social media platforms, but especially for many artists, this phrase has become a familiar foe. What kind of community restricts your right for self-expression?
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by Andy | Art
Why the House of Red Doors’ theme parties are not to be missed and how Berlin’s authentically wild side is reflected in them, is something we have already written about. What you might have missed though is the mannequin challenge the whole Bad Bruises crew, that organizes the parties, has recently shot. If this does not make you feel butterflies of excitement in your stomach and the need to learn more about this talented group of people and their vision, I do not know what could then. I personally expected Jessica Lange’s Elsa Mars from American Horror Story to show up owning it as always.
So mark the 31st of May on your calendar because The House of Red Doors’ iconic party is back and you should definitely check it out.
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by Nikos | Party, Videos
photos: Carrie Schneider
Nudity is nothing a Berliner is particularly shocked about. In contrary, I think that Berlin is the city with the most public nakedness in the world if you consider all the nude beaches and public sex parties. It is also a different nakedness than in a tropical or Mediterranean city because the weather is not actually inviting to take off your close. The Berlin nudity is a public statement to the liberation of the human body from all the social, political and gender oppressions. At least that is what I like to read into it, even though I doubt that all of the half naked 19year old kids at the Pornceptual parties would agree.
But I am losing track here. Let’s discuss Berlin’s political intentions on nudity another time… I actually just wanted to recommend a damn sexy contemporary dance festival starting today: Tanz im August. Scrolling through the pics I saw some naked flesh popping up in the press folder and I was wondering if a conservative audience would claim that the dance world needs sex to get more attention from the younger audience. This could not be more wrong. Dance is not automatically sexy when the bodies on stage are naked.
But there is an element of contemporary dance that I find extremely sexy (which is why I also used this alluring headline). It is the intensity and the ability to control, perform and present yourself and your body that intrigues the spectator. A contemporary performer is always in a constant dialogue between his own body and the audience and is within this dialogue able to create tension and persuasion. From my point of view, most of the times the nakedness of a performer is actually not erotic but rather a narration of intimacy and disclosure.
We selected several dance pieces from the festival taking places in some of our favorite theaters including Sophiensaele, Hau and Volksbühne, that we think are promising and worth visiting. Our recommendations after the jump.
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by Claudio | Theater
photos: Erika Lust Films.
Yeah yeah yeah, sex sells. What kind of sex though? When you watch recent music videos, a lot of them could be a trailer for a dirty flick, for sure. Sex is a part of pop culture and sneaks in everywhere, making suggestions, taking advantage.
The porn industry – despite the millions of free films online – is still a billion-dollar industry. Somehow, it is also a barometer of how society thinks about sex, I guess. Depending on what new genres come up, it says a lot about where the culture stands, what’s up and coming – pun intended.
Erotica for women is a rather newer genre. Erika Lust is – no pun intended this time – the shooting star of it, you could say.
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by Frank | Movies
photo:Evelyn Bencicova
This heat is getting on everybody’s nerves who has to sit in front of a computer and can’t escape the city and venture to cooling lakes. To support the poor ones in the offices we picked some very special eye candy that will make you feel hot and cold at the same time. In the photo series Ecce Homo Berlin-based photographer Evelyn Bencicova shot naked bodies in a quite artistic way. The depicted faceless nudity doesn’t feel to me in any way pornographic, but shows the sublime beauty of the human body in all its forms. Enjoy the photos after the jump.
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by Claudio | Art, Photos
