By Shawna Mount
Aphrodite and the Gods of Love exhibit on view through Feb. 17 at the San Antonio Museum of Arts, 200 W. Jones Ave., displays Aphrodite in a different light. Well known as the goddess of love and beauty, the deity had many guises. She was a mother, a mediator in political affairs, a protector of brides, warriors and sailors, an idol of sexual desire, a seductress and an adulteress. This rare collection explores all sides.
“Aphrodite is much more complex than people realize; multi-dimensional,” Museum Marketing Director Cary Marriott said. “This exhibit is meant to give the complete story of Aphrodite.”
The exhibition features a collection of 125 pieces including statues, vases, terracotta, bronze figures, mirrors and jewelry organized and funded by Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Seven pieces in the exhibit are from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
“The exhibit is groundbreaking in its entirety,” Marriott said. “One of the many great pieces in this collection is a 7-foot-tall statuette of Aphrodite that dates back to 117 A.D.”
Six pieces in the exhibit are from San Antonio Museum of Art’s own collection of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts.
“SAMA has the best collection in the southern United States,” Marriott said.
The museum already has a large support system but aims to grow the number of patrons and supporters by at least 30 percent in the coming year.
“We have a loyal and growing base of supporters within the city’s philanthropic, business and civic leadership to help us do it,” Emily Jones, director of special projects, said in SAMA’s membership magazine, View.
Recently, the museum created a contest based on the Aphrodite exhibit, focusing on middle school and high school students. A $250 prize will be given to the best essay, story, or poem written on a piece in the exhibit. Mayor Julian Castro is one of five judges on the panel. The winner will be announced in early December.
Though Aphrodite is the main focus of the exhibit, many of the other Greek and Roman gods of love are featured throughout the six rooms of this collection, for instance the goddess Ishtar in her familiar representation as a classical nude and the various manifestations of Eros are also on display.
On a recent afternoon, hushed voices echoed through the rooms of nude statues of idolized bodies and artifacts portraying immortalization, sensuality and sexual scenes depicted by ancient Romans and Greeks. Some viewers looked away in discomfort while others stared in arousal. Others were immersed in the beauty of the art itself.
Tucked in the very back of the exhibit is a dimly-lit nook with a clear warning sign, “contains explicit content” and “viewer discretion is advised.”
One piece features a nightmarish sex scene between a man and a winged, web-footed siren.
Another not so grotesque piece features Eros carrying off a male youth which is meant to symbolize sexual penetration and the inviolability of the body.
Marriott said erotic art is only a tiny piece of both the exhibit and other art collections in the museum and should still be considered art despite the nudity and sensuality.
“Art displays parts of life,” Marriott said. “It is supposed to make you think and question your beliefs and values.”
Nude ad sparks controversy
SAMA’s Aphrodite and the Gods of Love exhibit has raised some eyebrows.
The San Antonio International Airport and two other businesses refused the display of the exhibit’s advertisement because of nudity. However, the San Antonio Current, San Antonio Magazine, San Antonio Jewish Journal and San Antonio Business Journal had no issues running the advertisement. Read more
The advertisement featured a 2,000-year-old statuette of Aphrodite emerging from the sea which is one of the exhibit’s prized possessions.
Tolerating the conflicting viewpoints, SAMA replaced the image of an unclothed Aphrodite with another image more suitable to their preferences which featured a close-up of Aphrodite’s face.
“Art is supposed to make you uncomfortable and that should be okay,” Marriott said.
Aphrodite and the Gods of Love collection will make three stops before the pieces are returned to the museums. San Antonio is its second stop and Oklahoma will be its last.
The exhibit is on display until Feb. 17 at the at 200 West Jones Ave.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students and military and free for children under 12.
Admission is free for everyone 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and 10 a.m. to noon on Sundays.
