Artist Of The Month - Annie Sprinkle

Annie Sprinkle (Born Ellen Steinberg) is a performance artist and sex educator. She is a sex positive feminist who has stared in, produced, and directed hundreds of different types of pornographic films and shows. She is well known for being one of the first porn stars to receive a Ph D. Her work is now studied in many university classrooms, which is exactly how i found out about her. When i first saw her work, i honestly did not know how to react. Her fun and encouraging attitude towards sex and female sexuality is not only what makes her work successful but also, educational.

Her website contains tons of images and writings from almost all her work. Her performance piece, Public Cervix Announcement is my personal favourite. In this piece she literally sits in a public space with a speculum placed in her vagina and allows viewers to come up and look at her cervix. While this takes place she talks to them about the functions and beauty of the female cervix. She also talks about how to perform a cervix self examination. A little over the top? Perhaps, but that is exactly what gets people's attention.



Her work, although sometimes seemingly comedic, usually contains serious political and social undertones, and is most of the time accompanied with writings or even dissertations from her PhD. Some common themes and issues prevalent in her work are sex trade work and the education and protection of sex trade workers; female orgasms, masturbation, and sex sex sex. Some links below. ENJOY!

Annie Sprinkle Writings
Annie Srinkle Art Index

-Evy Hareven