Gallery

Hours:
Monday - Thursday 11am - 6pm

Phone:
(217) 206-6506

Location:
Health and Sciences Building
(HSB 201)
(Campus Map)

Postal Mail:
UIS Visual Arts Department
One University Plaza
MS VPA 62
Springfield, IL 62703

|Fon Seks|

Call for Entries

The feminist philosopher Susan Bordo has stated, “When bodies get together in sex, a whole history, cultural as well as personal, comes along with them.” Though intimate human relations—sex—can feel private and personal, close study shows that it is always mediated by language, visual imagery, social scripts, and cultural expectations. There is not and can never be such a thing as "natural" sex—it is always a social and historical phenomenon.

In light of this, how should we view the transformation of intimate relations enabled by digital devices? As celebrities, Congressmen, and amorous teenagers have discovered, often to their shock and embarrassment, the meaning of dating, relationships, romance, and even sex itself is currently being renegotiated in light of the fluorescent glow of digital devices. iPhones, Blackberries, and Androids are transforming what it means to be sexually intimate in the 21st century, inaugurating new languages (“dicpic”), behaviors (sexting), desires, expressions, communities, identities, and legal and regulatory frameworks.

The identification and interaction with others on the basis of a shared sexual identity, orientation, inclination, or “kink” has never been easier, nor have sexual performances or masquerades—scripted or spontaneous—ever been as ephemeral or transient. The intersection of microcomputer and global telecommunications technologies threatens to collapse longtime distinctions between public/private, personal/political, strange/familiar, distant/immediate, fleeting/eternal, and connection/alienation. Familiar boundaries of self, relationship, community, and nation are easily bridged as desires and technologies combine to put an adult bookstore, singles bar, brothel, and gay bathhouse in your purse or pocket. We are witnessing a revolution in human intimacy and this one will be televised…via the XTube mobile app on your iPhone 4GS!

The Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois Springfield invites entries for a juried show of art (in any medium) that addresses the intersection of digital technology and intimate relations. An electronic catalog will accompany the show featuring accepted entries and curatorial essays. One Best of Show and two Honorable Mention awards will be given. Best of Show winner will receive a solo exhibition at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery in Spring 2014.

To have your work considered for the show, please follow the instructions below. Complete submissions require:

JPG images (no larger than 1000 pixels on the longest side) or a 5 minute video clip (link to video prefered) along with an image list (max. 3 images/video per entry)
Artist’s statement of no more than 250 words explaining how the work relates to the exhibition call
A short biography or CV
A donation of $20 to the Friends of the Gallery must accompany each entry. Donations can be made here.
Once you receive a confirmation email for your donation, please forward the email along with your submission materials to submissions.uis@gmail.com or mail entries to:
University of Illinois Springfield
c/o UIS Visual Arts Gallery
One University Plaza, MS VPA 62
Springfield, IL 62703

Members of the jury: Dave Kube is a photographer and Visiting Assistant Professor of Digital Media in the Art, Music, and Theater department at the University of Illinois Springfield. Michael J. Murphy is assistant professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department at the University of Illinois Springfield, where he teaches courses on genders, sexualities, and popular visual culture.

Questions? Email submissions.uis@gmail.com

Deadline for submissions: December 1, 2012.

Working calendar:
Submission deadline: 1 Dec 2012
Notify applicants: 20 Jan 2013
Receive work: 10 Feb 2013
Exhbitions dates: 4 March-11 April 2013
Opening reception: 7 Mar 2013