The Kinsey Institute art and library collections contain thousands of examples of erotic imagery produced over centuries by artists around the world. Secret Impressions presents a selection of lithographs, engravings, etchings and woodblock prints from the mid-19th century and earlier. These artworks from France, England, Italy, Germany, Holland, and Japan illustrate the means by which pornographic and erotic images were mass produced before the invention of the camera. Wealthy collectors could commission paintings, but others could purchase prints at a lower cost. Once photography was invented in the 1830s, it quickly became a popular medium for depictions of the nude figure, as well as erotic imagery. The first photographic process to become widespread was the daguerreotype, which produced a unique image. With the invention of a process that used a negative to make multiple photographs, the mass production of erotic images became possible. Hold That Pose features daguerreotypes, tintypes, albumen and gelatin silver prints, stereocards, and other examples of photographic processes that were used in the 19th century by professional photographers to produce and distribute erotic material.

The Kinsey Institute is open to visitors from 1:30 to 5:00 pm weekdays or at other times during office hours by appointment only. Admission is free. Due to adult content, visitors should be 18 years of age or older, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. To schedule a group guided tour of The Kinsey Institute, please call 812-855-7686.

We welcome you Friday, March 6th, at 6:00pm, The Venue Fine Art & Gifts will host a Reception for an Exhibit of all new works of Award Winning Artist, Mark Blaney. A Bloomington resident, Mark has shown his work around the world and around the country,

beginning in 1994.

Marks paintings reveal that he is first and foremost a colorist, with a healthy respect for line and form as well. Inspired by the likes of Gauguin and Degas, Marks paintings are drawn from nature, and often portray an American Southern narrative. Most aptly described as post modern impressionism, Mark defies categorization by exercising his freedom to explore color, line, and form, in his own unique style. This exhibit will also include Mark’s latest drawings, watercolors, small sculptures and more!

The Venue will provide refreshments for the occasion. Our complete collection of fine art and gifts will also be on display for viewing and purchase.

This show will run at The Venue until March 19th.

Sidewalk Stories (1989) Directed by Charles Lane
A Natural Born Gambler (1916) Directed by Bert Williams

Sidewalk Stories tells the story of a modern day “tramp” and his unlikely friendship with a lost child. Lane pairs the comedic charm of Chaplin with the harrowing social realism of Lionel Rogosin to explore class relations and homelessness in 1980s New York. Lane’s film will follow Bert Williams’ 1916 short A Natural Born Gambler, featuring the Black comic playing on popular stereotypes to provide a point of comparison, as well as a striking point of departure to Sidewalk Stories. The print for A Natural Born Gambler is preserved by The Museum of Modern Art with support from The Lillian Gish Trust for Film Preservation. Thank you to the Museum of Modern Art Film Preservation Center for the generous loan of their 35mm print.
(2K DCP/35mm presentation)

BLACK SILENCE: Films BY Zeinabu irene Davis and Charles Lane
Decades before The Artist sparked an international silent revival, two Black independent features—Charles Lane’s Sidewalk Stories and Zeinabu irene Davis’ Compensation—bookended the heyday of the Black New Wave with bold formal experiments incorporating markers of silent cinema into contemporary explorations of friendship, social inequality, and Black experience. To return to silent cinema is to invoke nostalgia, but in the case of these filmmakers, it is a knowing, rather than naïve, romance with a past that excluded African Americans.

This series is sponsored by the Black Film Center/Archive, the College of Arts and Sciences, The Media School, the Film and Media Studies Program, the Department of American Studies, and the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.

We’ve got TWO great ladies on the Showcase tonight – and a couple of pretty cool guys too! JENN CRISTY is one busy lady these days – doing everything possible musically. She’s our Rocker Girl but being classically trained, she gets around on a keyboard as well as anyone we’ve seen. Barefoot, soulful voice– a star in the making! Angela White will be making her debut this evening . . . well not exactly a debut. . We met her when she showed up to perform at one of our monthly OPEN GUEST ‘Share-A-Chair’ evenings. White took the stage tentatively, almost shy, and then just knocked our socks off with her Country Rock, Americana style songs. Simple music done very well. Honest lyrics, with an Emmylou kinda feel – Angela will steal your hearts. Russ Baum is driving down from Indianapolis to perform his high energy, Rock / Americana style music for y’all this evening. He always pleases his audience with his ‘easy to know’ personality. There’s nothing off limits when he shares his experiences through his tunes. You’ll feel like one of his friends before the evening is through. Dick Gist is the mandolin / bass player for popular Brown County band – ‘The Indiana Boys’, but he can hold his own as a solo performer and his songs are a delight . . . as is he. This versatile musician writes songs that are Country / Americana / Folk in nature . . . cool eh?
No Cover Charge – All Ages Welcomed