NEW YORK CITY—The Museum of Sex, in cooperation with popular cam site Cam4, has created Cam Life: An Introduction to Webcam Culture, the first exhibition to survey the rise of webcam culture, tracing its evolution from a single camera in a dorm room to what has become a cultural movement—and billion-dollar global industry. The exhibit will be opening to the public on Thursday, December 19, 2019.
Cam Life: An Introduction to Webcam Culture delves into the untold history of cam and web chat, and the potential for internet broadcasting to blur the lines between public and private life and ultimately create a more democratic space for sexual expression. Considering the rise of virtual intimacy and the proliferation of erotica in numerous forms since the introduction of the World Wide Web, this exhibition investigates the complex evolution of sexual desire in the age of the Internet.
Cam Life pulls together exclusive interviews and content from Internet pioneers, original commissioned works by six contemporary artists who integrate the world of online camming and pornography into their practice, and an extensive collection of artifacts chronicling the expansion of sexual expression on the internet from early text-based chat rooms to high-definition explicit one-on-one intimacy. The show also introduces the booming professional cam studio industry in the developing nations of Romania and Colombia, and it features dynamic interactive installations—including an audience participation cam stage.
This exhibition curated by the Museum's Serge Becker and Lissa Rivera, with text by Erika Blair, and introduction by Emily Witt, video curatorial assistance by Lindsay Dye, and live performance curatorial assistance by Leah Schrager, will be on view with ongoing programming through May 31, 2020.
“This is the era of the home studio," observed internet pioneer Josh Harris. "Shakespeare once said that the world's a stage, but the world is a sound stage. And the difference between last century and now is, last century was making programming for the audience—movies, television, radio, newspapers [but] for this century, it's programming the audience. You were trained to idolize what you see on the screen, these people you've never met. So how big of a leap is it, entertainment business-wise, to start producing the audience?”
The mission of the Museum of Sex is to preserve and present the history, evolution, and cultural significance of human sexuality. Since opening in 2002, the museum has collaborated with world-renowned cultural institutions, artists, and academics to create exhibitions and interactive programs that explore the best in current scholarship in the arts, sciences, and humanities. From fine art to historical ephemera, its permanent collection is comprised of more than 20,000 sexually significant artifacts.
The Museum of Sex is located at 233 Fifth Avenue (at 27th Street) in New York City. It is open seven days per week.
Pictured, counterclockwise: Live Chat Studio by Lorenzo Maccotta; Cam Boy by Mood Killer; Lindsay Dye by Noelle Duquette
