The erotic and contemporary art

Lou Andreas Salomé wrote The Erotic (1911) before she met Freud. The recent English translation of her ground-breaking book encourages us to consider how a century of social change has affected erotic behaviour, and what this may mean for psychoanalysis. In a world of online porn, internet dating and ‘digital emotions’, what are the contours of ‘the erotic’ in the world today?

This interdisciplinary conference explores the significance of contemporary erotic life for human relationships and the questions it poses for psychoanalytic theory and practice.

Speakers were asked to consider a variety of themes:

The erotic at different stages of life
Differences and similarities between male and female eroticism
The difference between ‘erotic’ and ‘sexual’
The new female erotica – what is its appeal?
Sexualisation of childhood and 'childhood sexuality'
'Cultural hypocrisy’ and double standards - do they still exist?
Pornography – how is it used and what are its effects on individuals and relationships?
Internet dating and online affairs – a modern form of infidelity?
New technology and the erotic
Eroticism and violence
Erotic fantasies
Erotic transference and counter-transference in psychoanalysis
Heterosexual and homosexual erotic – is there a difference?
Cross-cultural and inter-cultural perspectives on the erotic
Is there such a thing as a ‘post-modern’ erotic?

Emma Talbot's presentation focused on representations of the erotic in contemporary art, and was followed by a roundtable discussion.