Que Vive? Sexual exhibit at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Moscow - Known for its preservation of heritage art, it looks like things are instead sizzling up this summer with modern art. Following more liberal European art forms, the Que Vive? opened on July 9 at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.

The Moscow Museum of Modern Art, which opened December 15, 1999, focuses exclusively on 20th and 21st century art. A disclaimer reads: “Dear Visitors, the ‘Kamasutra Spoon’ exhibition is not recommended for children under 16 or easily disturbed people.” The Kamasutra Spoon explores the theme of sex using various mediums such as painting, video, photography and live performance. The Sacred Popcorn exhibition combines all these artistic mediums, with a well known Russian male model, Danila Polyakov laying nude in a bed of popcorn. He is one of 35 young artists who have come together to create Kamasutra Spoon. Several are from Moscow, but some are from other countries such as Austria, Germany, and Indonesia.

No two “Kamasutra Spoon” pieces are exactly alike, with each one dealing with the issue of sex in a unique manner.

The curator Andrei Bartenev, described by Moscow Times as flamboyant, explains the origins of the exhibit: “I noticed that a powerful energy source for young artists was sex,” Bartenev continues, “The artist either agrees and accepts this sexual energy or tries to subdue it. This is the context an artist works in. The exhibition will run for five weeks. More photos here.