Sexuality "Swings" Into Focus

So, SEX is one of those things that's hard to shake from the mind.

After my discovery of what Fragonards "Swing" was REALLY implying, it's been hard to shake since. It's interesting in that time period how sex, as well as other taboo social situations, was always shown through symbols. I mean, who would've thought that the loss of a shoe, or the spin of a top hat could mean "gettin' it on"?? And the fact that nude portraits were only allowed to represent mythological characters seems downright oppressive! But what is interesting is that a fine artist like Fragonard would go out on a limb to push that sexual envelope, and really pull out of the viewer those raw feelings of love, lust, and even discomfort. The real story behind this painting is borderline pornographic, but just by looking at it it seems hardly shocking.

It's interesting to see how works like this stack up to sexually driven works of art that are portrayed now in days. The loss of a shoe, or a wind blown skirt, is hardly unsettling for the modern viewer. But what about an artist such as David LaChapelle who borrows a lot from the subject matter of different periods in art history, and mashes them up with the popular culture of today as well as contemporary pornography? Here is a fine art photographer that really seems to modernize what Fragonard was doing back in 1770. Sex as subject has transcended time and it's interesting to compare the old with the new.

LaChapelle's use of sexuality is a lot more overt. The raw emotion that Fragonard's paintings evoke, are now, with LaChapelle, evoked through very raw images. There is flesh free of censorship, flanks free of clothing, and a fresher take on fornication. LaChapelles images are almost so pristine, the colors so saturated, that it takes a vulgar image and makes it look ethereal. In the same way, Fragonard took a very soft color palette and mixed it with a very edgy subject matter, in order to allow the two to somehow even each other out. Sex doesn't seem as taboo when it's all dressed up. It's like a wolf in sheep's clothing, but who's to say that it's in need of a disguise?

What it comes down to is a massive change in the times and the way that social standards have effected the way we look at topics like this; and more importantly how these topics are seen in art. It's like comparing a Beatles song that boasts, "I wanna hold your hand" to a Ludacris song proclaiming, "I wanna lick you from your head to your toes!" While sex even today lacks exclusive acceptance amongst ALL societies, it is a part of life that is not going away no matter how often it is censored or exploited. Artists will continue to use it as subject matter, and it will be interesting to see how future art will represent a topic that has been continually shunned and/or embraced, much like the controversial artists themselves.