We are all open books. Sharing is no longer a gesture of closeness, but increasingly a social expectation in a culture defined by our smartphones. To be open, honest, and above all else, vulnerable, has gone from a marker of character to a commonplace demand in a cultural climate of endless sharing. Our stories and our selves are increasingly commodities to be leveraged in a marketplace of content, and vulnerability has gone from a private emotional state to a marketing buzzword.
And yet as vulnerability is emptied of its meaning, employed to encourage confessional-style videos and sell self-help books, it is still celebrated as a morally-right act of self-sacrifice. “Vulnerability” becomes synonymous with honesty and authenticity, and appears as a type of emotional purity. To be vulnerable is to be brave, even if that manifests as sharing a selfie or blogging a private experience. But the focus on the moral rightness of vulnerability belies its more decadent edge; to be seen and viewed can also be deeply pleasurable and indulgent. If we’re all expected to be exposed, we’re also given permission to be exhibitionists.
EXHIBITIONISM, the inaugural presentation in Rajiv Menon Contemporary’s flagship new gallery space in Hollywood, seeks to explore these larger questions of privacy, visibility, and the ever-shifting definition of intimacy. The artists in this exhibition explore the pleasures and pains of being seen, and the complex aesthetics that arise from both desiring and resisting attention. Ranging from the erotic to the domestic, the autobiographical to the fantastic, the works featured in EXHIBITIONISM demonstrate how artists negotiate the boundary between public and private.