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Erotic Heritage
Museum featured in an Illustrated Word Public Art Presentation as part of the
Vegas Valley Book Festival, November 1-3.
Markus Tracy, the site on site Public Artist, will be speaking about this project at the Poetry
Courtyard Stage, of the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth Street, on
Saturday November 3, from 11:45am to 12:00pm, accompanied by Dorian Gomez, the
resident curator of the Museum.
According to Markus
Tracy, the site on site artist, there will be a total of 5 site on site
locations.
SITE ON SITE is a
[site-specific] art project which coincided with the first annual “Day in the
Arts District” festival. The city of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs
accepted Markus’ proposal to paint five text paintings at specific locations
throughout the Las Vegas Downtown Arts District. Along with text paintings, a
map will be created to engage viewers with the artist statement and location of
each project.
Each
text represents a title that is evocative of its immediate surroundings.
Roman Times text was used to show a level of truth; typical of a newspaper or
literary text. Each text is punctuated by a red dot one foot in diameter
proportional in height to each text. The red dot signifies a location or
sign to observe the title in relation to the surrounding environment.
This kind of mapping serves as a signifier prompting the viewer to ponder the
personal, social, political, and environmental landscape.
The Term “lost & found” was chosen as a collaborative
effort of Markus Tracy, the site on site artist, and Dorian Gomez, the resident
curator of the Museum.
The site on site is chosen not so much for what is on the
site right now but the property itself and the area.
As Dorian commented, “The Museum is located in a strange
area. It has vagrants. Beheaded birds sometimes show up in the parking lot.
Visitors from out of town wake up drunk outside. People get lost trying to find
the Museum, or find it by chance as they are driving by.”
She also said it is almost like Vegas forgot about this
area, even though it is only a block away from the strip. The main focus on the
city is to keep people on the strip.
And that is true too of the nature of what exists on this
property now.
Much of our lost erotic heritage can be found here at the
Museum.
And it could be said that people who feel a little “lost”
can “find” themselves here, too. Even some of the staff who volunteer here have
found their life’s purpose doing their graduate studies through the Institute
for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality that is also associated with the
Museum (The Exodus Trust in San Francisco founded both the Institute and the Museum).
So come and “find” yourself or get “lost” within the wonders
our forgotten erotic heritage here at the Museum!
