ART PAPERS 25.03 - May/June 2001

This volume marks our 25^th anniversary and Michael Pittari’s last work as editor. The issue comes at a moment in contemporary art that mirrors the proliferation of open sexual expression. We have chosen to focus not only on representations of sexuality, but also the politics of it all: eroticism, censorship, and feminism.

Julia A. Fenton opens the issue with "World Churning", a critique of globalism and western feminist lens that fail to see the cultural imperialism inherent in its demands for Western equity; Tami Katz Freiman reports back from the Havana Biennial in "Compromising Situations" to question not only Cuba’s censorship of several artists, but also how the professional attention the impoverished nation received testifies to a morbid obsession with poverty. Both Tania Bruguera, a Cuban artist whose performance was canceled at the Havana Biennial, and Marina Ekman use male nudity in their work. Ekman’s installation, Johns, is examined by Carl Hayward in "Forbidden Realms". Among many others, this issue also includes a review of the Havana Biennial by Tanja Softić.