LOS ANGELES—Pleasure product manufacturer Lioness, a women-led leader in the sexual wellness category, is launching the Artgasm Gallery nationwide this October at Pleasure Chest New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Artgasm Gallery is a collection of artwork based on data visualizations from real masturbation experiences, anonymously submitted by individuals who own a Lioness Vibrator. It’s a new way to visualize, talk about, and celebrate the diversity of sexual pleasure.
“Sexual experiences are a lot like art—you can’t really say whether a Picasso painting or a Annie Leibovitz photograph is ‘better’ art. Similarly, you can’t really say whether one person’s pleasure experience is ‘better’ than another’s,” said Liz Klinger, co-founder and CEO of Lioness (and who also was once an artist herself). “There’s no one thing that makes a great experience, and what’s considered great varies widely from person to person.”
“There’s something powerful about being able to bring together experiences of pleasure that were previously unspoken and difficult to talk about,” added Anna, co-founder and VP of Engineering at Lioness. “During the era of Trump, #MeToo, and people often getting their sex education through pornography, this is the perfect opportunity to show real experiences of sexual pleasure, submitted by people who want to share and celebrate those experiences.”
Each Artgasm is based on a data visualization of an individual’s session:
1. The pulsating circle represents the pelvic floor contractions—different people have different patterns that they’ve defined
2. The patterned lines moving around represent the amount of motion—more variance represents more movement, less is less movement).
3. The dots in the background represent the amount of vibration a person is using—more dots = more vibration, less is less, or none at all if there is no vibration.
Artgasm first piloted at CES in January 2018—see more information about that initial launch of Lioness’s Artgasm at Engadget and NowThis Her.
Each artwork is a data visualization of an individual’s arousal and orgasm using the Lioness—a vibrator that uses sensor feedback technology and an app so you can explore patterns from your solo sessions and literally track (and visualize) your pleasure. Individuals can anonymously submit their artwork to the Artgasm Gallery via the Lioness App, or they can keep the artwork on their app for personal enjoyment. They can add a note with their artwork to share with Artgasm attendees and be able to pick out their artwork if they visit the gallery.
“When we did a trial run of Artgasm, some people walked into the gallery and were confused—there aren’t any pictures of women (or anybody) moaning, or even any genitalia.” says Klinger. “By showing pleasure in a different context, people can see pleasure as more than titillating—it’s a basic biological function and human need that is experienced in all sorts of ways.”
Lioness has partnered with the Pleasure Chest to showcase the Artgasm Gallery this October at three Pleasure Chest locations (New York UES, Los Angeles, and Chicago Lincoln), with launch parties at each location (more details below). There will be frank conversations about sexual pleasure—from art to technology to cannabis and pleasure, and a raffle for a Lioness Vibrator. For the Artgasm Launch (and Lioness’s 5 year anniversary), Lioness will also be available at Pleasure Chest online and in retail for $189 during the month of October.
Artgasm events are scheduled for:
Chicago Lincoln: 8-10 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 10
New York City UES: 8-10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11
Los Angeles: 6-8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14
RSVP for an Artgasm event here.
