Cosmic Coitus: A Slideshow of Art, Sex and Spirituality
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m giving a lecture at Seattle Erotic Art Festival this Sunday. For regular readers of this blog, this will be a chance to see me in rare form! Basically, my talk is a sweeping survey of the history of sexuality as it pertains to religious mythology, symbolism, and practice. From the festival catalog:
Cosmic Coitus is a titillating glimpse into the history of the human imagination. Drawing on sacred art from around the world and the writings of mythologists such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, artist and writer Emily Pothast will trace the often rocky relationship between sex and spirituality to shed light on symbols, structures and paradigms that persist today as fragments of a mythic past.
Emily Pothast is a visual artist, musician, essayist, and the current Director of the Antique Print Department at Davidson Galleries in Seattle. Emily studied psychology, philosophy and art history before receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in 2005. She is the author of the critically acclaimed art blog Translinguistic Other, which focuses on the overlapping domains of science, creativity, and the religious impulse.
The lecture is free and will take place at the Sharma Center, 406 Dexter in Seattle at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 3. Although it’s free, there’s always a chance of it selling out. Advance tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets.
you bloody bastard who r u what r u what u know about god Buddha
you sis fucker remove this picture immediately
Whoa, hi there! I guess the idea that Buddhists are peaceful people is just a stereotype, then?
they are our god u shameless people
I’m not sure what you think I should be ashamed of. I find this representation of Yab-Yum to be a deeply spiritual and insightful point of departure for practice and meditation.
This post is about a lecture that happened several years ago. The entire lecture was about Gods and other images held to be sacred, whether they be Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, or otherwise. Its purpose was to explore how the portrayal of sexuality in sacred art and the textual references behind those images both reflect and shape the worldview of the adherents to these philosophies and religions. There was nothing disrespectful about it, unless you believe the study of these images by anyone outside your religious tradition is a problem, in which case I really can’t help you.