Natalie Kriwy, image from series “Beruf: Prostitution” (Profession: Prostitution), 2004–2006, C-print, 31 1/2 x 31 1/2″.

Berlin
“Sexwork: Art Myth Reality”
NEUE GESELLSCHAFT FÜR BILDENDE KUNST
Oranienstraße 25
Through February 25, 2007

Artists:

Patrick Angus (US), Amos Badertscher (US), J. Jackie Baier (DE), Cristiano Berti (IT), Bianca Bodau (DE), Ursula Biemann (CH), Viviana Bravo Botta (CL/DE), Jose Luis Cuevas (MX), Jean-Ulrick Désert (US/DE), Antje Engelmann (DE), Stefanie Gaus (DE), Ditte Haarløv-Johnsen (DK), Birgit Hein (DE), Gabriele Horndasch (DE), Karin Jurschick (DE), diekönigin (AT), Natalie Kriwy (F/DE), Ane Lan (NO), BuBu de la Madeleine (JP), Anna Nizio (PL/DE), Eva Maria Ocherbauer (AT/DE), Beate Passow (DE), Anja Planišček (SL), Tadej Pogačar (SL), Clara S. Rueprich (DE), Tejal Shah, Dr.Floy, Natasha Mendonca and Sumathi (F, IN), Judith Siegmund (DE), Alberto Simon (BR/DE), Ulrike Solbrig (DE), Itziar Bilbao Urrutia (ES/GB), Social Impact (AT), Borjana Ventzislavova (BG/AT), Rommelo Yu (PH/DE), Yoshiko Shimada (JP), Gloria Zein (DE)

From Artforum.com:

Featuring works by thirty-five international artists and collectives—including practitioners—the sprawling exhibition is divided into three locations and themes, which attempt to avoid voyeurism while offering a realistic picture of prostitution today. It’s a difficult balance to maintain, and the curatorial team—Stéphane Bauer, Boris von Brauchitsch, Katharina Kaiser, Maika Leffers, Jörg Leidig, Judith Siegmund, and Ulrike Solbrig—made the wise decision to offer a surplus of images and information at each location in order to thwart the bodily intimacy promised by the sex-trade encounter. There is simply too much for the eye of any beholder, whether regular client, voyeur, critical feminist, or aficionado of dark, crowded rooms. Even habitués of the white cube are likely to be frustrated by the often-chaotic installation. Yet frustrating visual pleasure—preventing an exhibition about prostitution from slipping into porn—is part of the show’s critical message and a measure of its success.

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