Let Miriam know at info at sexies dot org if you can help with any of these things.

(2) About the Art

Our prize list for the raffle and auction is still growing. I wanted to share a little bit about the art that we'll be auctioning:

Sophy Naess, graduate of Cooper Union who has exhibited all over the United States and Europe and is now based in Sweden, has donated a woodblock print depicting a kiss. Sophy says: "Kisses are a recurrent theme in my paintings; I'm interested in the kiss itself as a punctuation mark that joins two forms. An ever-compelling meeting place of abstraction, figuration, and memory." Her website is www.sophynaess.com.

David Steinberg has been photographing couples engaged in sex since 1999. He has photographed over 100 couples, and is always looking for new subjects. He has donated one of these photographs, an 11x14 black-and-white print, to the auction. David's photography has appeared in Cupido, Libido, On Our Backs, SF Weekly, and Spectator magazines, in The Mammoth Book of Erotic Photography, and at numerous websites online. His website is at www.davidsteinberg.us. David says: "Since 1999 I have been photographing people in loving, committed relationships being sexual in the familiarity of their own homes. I try to follow the sexual energy of the couple I am photographing, rather than to lead or direct it. The ways we think of sex are shaped by the images of sex we see around us. Images that trivialize sex encourage us to be sexual in trivial ways. Images that portray sex as complex, intimate, and mysterious encourage us to be sexual in deeper and, I believe, more satisfying, ways. My goal is for these images to help us embrace sex as a deep, important, and creative part of being fully alive."

New York-based artist Julio Aguilera has donated an original painting. Aguilera has recently embarked on a project of painting Picasso-style portraits of porn stars. From AVN: "Understanding what it means to be an adult entertainment star, particularly as the latest iteration of the sexual entertainer, drove Aguilera to begin the porn star portraits project. The artist has always been influenced by Picasso, but this time, he is reacting to the limitations of his role model. "Ladies of Avignon," according to Aguilera, needs to be updated. 'It worked for the beginning of the 20th century, but times have changed,' he says. 'Porn stars have replaced Picasso's ladies, and it's my job to paint it.'"

Take one of these works of art home with you!

Looking forward to seeing you Saturday. Remember: The party will be Sat. Oct. 4, 6:30-9:30pm, in the downstairs lounge of Splash, 50 W. 17th Street, New York. $5 cover. Mingle with your favorite sex-positive writers and advocates, and support the mission of Sexies awards so they can continue into 2009!

The Sexies are the brainchild of journalist Miriam Axel-Lute, and were brought about in collaboration with writers, readers, and activists from The Center for Sex & Culture and the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, and with the support from sponsors Babeland, The Playboy Foundation, Xbiz, UltraVirgo Creative, and Splash.

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