Renée Jacobs – Partisan of the Lesbian Movement
Press release courtesy of Renée Jacobs
Renée Jacobs – Partisan of the Lesbian Movement
October 21, 2022 until April 1, 2023
Museu de l’Eròtica, La Rambla 96 bis, Barcelona, Spain
VIP & Press Event October 20th at 7pm.
As a response to recent censorship of her work, the Museu de l’Eròtica and Renée Jacobs are delighted to announce a six-month exhibit of her photos at the Museu entitled “Renée Jacobs-Partisan of the Lesbian Movement.”
“I would recommend you to re-think if you’re behaving as a photographer or as a partisan of the lesbian movement.”
These are the words spoken by FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona after renowned lesbian photographer Renée Jacobs protested the censorship and removal of all but one of her same-sex images from her “seeingWOMEN” exhibit alongside Helmut Newton in May 2022.
After images had been selected and sent to the press, the gallery informed Renée that “in your case some images that were not subtle have been withdrawn.” The gallerist deemed some of the images “too explicit[ly] lesbian” and stated: “we have decided not to exhibit some photos [that] might have been interpreted as explicit sex.” Below are some of the images that the gallerist knew had been sent to the press yet were removed without the photographer’s knowledge or consent:
When Renée protested the censorship, the gallerist told her that, “I would recommend you to re-think if you’re behaving as a photographer or as a partisan of the lesbian movement.” The censored images are from the book “Renée Jacobs’ PARIS” and have already been published in countless mainstream magazines over the years.
The Museu de l’Eròtica proudly presents not only these images that were deemed “too erotic” to hang alongside Newton, but far more erotic work that Renée has never previously exhibited or published anywhere. Legendary feminist photographer Donna Ferrato said of the censored work: “Your photographs are actually far sexier because they are real loving women photographed by a real loving woman. Your images are more dangerous and controversial because they reveal so much more about unscripted desire….”
This exhibit highlights authenticity and representation and shines a spotlight on the double standard in the art world between how men are allowed to depict women, how straight people are entitled to depict lesbians and the disconnect where women and lesbians are not allowed to represent themselves—where even the tamest of authentic same-sex desire is deemed as “too erotic.” Joan Martí i Ventura and Simón Perera, directors of the curatorial project ‘Una Mirada LGTBI+’ in Barcelona, put it this way: “To live in a free, safe world for everyone, we need to ensure that all voices are heard on their own terms. When visions from outside of our own reality and identity are the only thing that define us, the pillars and nuances of who we are fade out.”
About the Exhibition
Renée Jacobs – Partisan of the Lesbian Movement will be on view at the Museu de l’Eròtica, La Rambla 96 bis, Barcelona, Spain 08002 from October 21, 2022 until April 1, 2023. There will be an exclusive VIP & Press event the evening of October 20, 2022 at 7 pm. If you would like to attend the VIP & Press Reception please rsvp to wendy@reneejacobs.com
If you are a journalist who would like to review the entire gallery of images for the exhibit, please message renee@reneejacobs.com
About The Museu de l’Eròtica
The Museu de l’Eròtica, opened in 1997, is one of the top attractions in Barcelona. Located on La Rambla, the busiest and most historic promenade in the city and drawing 100,000 visitors per year, the Museu presents over 800 pieces of erotic art from ancient Egypt and Rome, through to Asia, the private erotic videos of King Alfonso XIII, onward to Miró, Dali, Picasso, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, and of course explaining Barcelona’s erotic history. This is the Museum’s first exhibit specifically dedicated to LGBTQI+ art. For more information about the Museu, contact: office@erotica-museum.com
About Renée Jacobs
Renée Jacobs is one of the most celebrated photographers of the female nude of our time. Two-time recipient of the prestigious International Photography Award for Fine Art Nude in 2008 and again for Book/Fine Art in 2022 for her latest book POLAROIDS, she has been exhibited and published around the world. In addition to POLAROIDS, her solo monographs include “Werkdruck“, “Renée Jacobs’ PARIS” and “Rêves de Femmes“. Her work frequently appears in Taschen anthologies and has been featured in such magazines as Elle Italia, Vanity Fair France, Playboy Germany, the British Journal of Photography, AnOther Magazine and i-D in Japan, Italy, France & the UK. Jacobs, an American former civil rights & Constitutional litigator, now lives with her wife in the glorious mountains west of Montpellier. For more information about Renée, visit: www.reneejacobs.com