Sexual Personae (Art & Decadence) - Camille Paglia | Part 1 | Reading&Discussion

Hi all -

After 6 months of reactionary readings, navigating forest passages and tiger riding, I boldly claimed that I was (at last) intending to deviate.

Certainly the world of aesthetics and art theory that I meant to delve into, however briefly, would allow us some reprieve from the onslaught of anti-modern, anti-tech, anti-democratic, aristocratic, amply vitalist, poetic, life-affirming, escapist, mythical, at-times-beautiful, at-times-concerning, ya-ya-hurricane of blabbering that I've subjected you all to for this last half year.

Nope. Whoops.

Are we still focusing on art? Sure. Is the author of some Nietzschean feminist persuasion, anti-modern and vaguely-pagan, controversial and fun fun fun, holding some new cultural currency amidst our bizarre and ever-fluctuating + increasingly-radical political landscape? Sure.

In short, we're reading Camille Paglia and her 1990 text Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson*.* I reckon maybe three of you will stick with this until the end and what a beautiful ride it will be. Prove me wrong.

This first session will focus on pages 1 through 139. As always, this is what we do in this series. This entails reading from Chapter 1 (Sex and Violence, or Nature and Art) through the end of Chapter 4 (Pagan Beauty). If you can't read it all, that's fine. Come armed with opinions, slogans, and dogmatisms or, at the very least, some art and book recommendations for the squad.

I will be reading this copy available through Vintage Books.
It is also available here as a free PDF.
Message me if there are any issues procuring a copy.

We will be meeting in the Ace Hotel lobby on W 29th. There is coffee, breakfast, and booze. Message me the day of if you can't find us. We usually sit toward the back of the lobby next to the bar.

As always, this group is open to newcomers to Paglia, novices of philosophy (+ art, theory, criticism, etc.), ragamuffins, ne'er-do-wells, urchins of all sorts, etc. All insights are encouraged, just be somewhat sensible and all the way cool. Ain't no fun to be found in nodding your head along with a thinker for a hundred pages - strive to disagree, with decency.

Alright, looking forward to it - reach out to me with any questions in the meantime.

See ya then,
Hamp