Archikulture Digest • May 14, 2008January 3, 2023

Lewd Night

p align=”left”>Lewd Night

May 10, 2008

Produced by Suzan Elizabeth

AKA Lounge, Orlando FL</strong>

I’m not sure how much art was sold, but this was one kick-ass party. In a smoky room up a long flight of stairs I found a cross section of the hip and vaguely employable Orlando scenesters. The occasion was Lewd Night, an art exhibition and party celebrating the lewdest and rudest work Orlando’s visual artists could create. Everything was for sale including the tastefully designed tee shirts declaring “Sodomy isÂ notÂ for Pussies.” If money was tight, you could vote for your favorite piece by jotting down the title and dropping it a ceremonial toilet. It’s not clear what the lucky artist might win, but it got people circulating. With a great band (Goldmine) cranking covers of The Cars and Black Sabbath, there was just enough noise to suppress unneeded conversation.

p align=”center”>It looks tight, but getting a seat at the bar wasn’t that hard.

The ensemble collection was quite interesting, with a number of doll-themed installations competing with paintings. I was intrigued by the combination of realism and trashiness displayed in “Zombies, Chicks and Guns” by Burton J. Gross. The stark and direct realism recalled the sordid B-movie poster art of the 50’s and the post-Hays Code sexual liberation of the 70’s. Now slyly ironic, the seeds of this painting lay in the age-old complaint of our fathers and their forefathers – “This generation is going to hell in a hand basket.” For all we can tell, they were probably correct.

“Zombies, Chicks and Guns” By Burton J Gross

Promoter and artist Suzan Elizabeth took a more whimsical approach to the fantasy of multiple interlocking genitals in her challenging acrylic “Loose Ends.” While the practicality of this coupling might be challenged on anatomical ground, we suspend disbelief as the cubists taught us, realizing that a painting may capture a sequence of action as well as a static snapshot of the here and now. The genuine delight in belonging to a single-minded community radiates from this happy frame.

p align=”center”>”Loose Ends” by Suzan Elizabeth

I’ve met Franklin Ratliff many times, and never realized he was an artist. His triptych “Borgs Have More Fun” presents three exaggerated female images. Half a century ago these women only appeared in comic books, but today they are ubiquitous if one ignores the practical discomfort of tight-fitting vinyl cat suits in Central Florida summer. None of his feminist Borgs makes direct eye contact with the viewer, as if to say “Yes, I’m a bit ashamed of my physique but I still need to show off. Now stop staring you creep.” I see it as a critique on the search for fame and the long lived hangover that follows.

“Borgs Have More Fun” Franklin Ratliff

p align=”left”>Not all the art was on the walls, of course. A tightly controlled back stage area produced a steady stream of Lewd Acts. Local actor and director Xian Kelty did a quick magic show by pulling the contents of a College Park yard sale out of his lovely assistant’s backside. Local choraleer Jon Ramer, accompanied by his son and grandson sang some traditional folk favorites – “The Old Jism Trail” and the first 4 verses of “Barnacle Bill the Sailor.” With some bad microphone placement, it was hard to hear the songs, but trio wrapped up with a nice political statement that got the crowds attention.

“Xian Kelty pulls a rabbit out of someone’s ass”

p align=”left”>Local spoken word genius Patrick Scott Barnes read some poems and balladeer Preacher John did a few acoustic love songs before smashing his beer-spattered guitar on the floor. While I didn’t see much art leave the room, fragments of the guitar were very popular souvenirs.

Patrick Scott Barnes read his award winning “I Want My Dick Sucked”

p align=”left”>As the Vomit Pops set up for their late night set, I sensed my parking meter was about to expire and I slipped out into the Florida night, reassured that art is more fun than sitting at home with the remote. The trip to Lewd Night was well worth the climb up those long dark AKA stairs.