Art or pornography? ... a fresco from Pompeii. Photograph: Mario Laporta/AFP
We're planning a sex show at the Barbican art gallery in London, beginning in October. My fellow curator Marina Wallace and I were the curators of Spectacular Bodies at the Hayward gallery in 2000. Joanne Bernstein will also be co-curating the show with us.
By sex show I mean the exhibition Seduced: Sex in the City. It will cover a range of representations of sex - about to happen, happening or having happened - from diverse eras and cultures. The chronological range runs from classical antiquity to the present day, and geographically from west to far east. It will involve other media, including dance.
The show was planned for the Hayward gallery for some three years. But the coincidence of a new director, Ralph Rugoff, new policies, and massive financial problems at the South Bank meant that the show was cancelled and we have decided to take it on. With major loans from around the world, the exhibition is not cheap.
The Barbican team are throwing themselves into the show with enthusiasm and vigour. As a good proportion of the items are explicit, we're currently conducting debates about the content and likely public reaction.
So, where does art stop and pornography begin? Is an explicit painting from an ancient Pompeian brothel acceptable (hallowed by time), while its modern equivalent is not? And, in the final analysis, can pornography be defined with any precision? The mighty Home Office Committee lead by the philosopher Bernard Williams concluded lamely in 1979 that the only test was what would offend a "reasonable person".
Does this "reasonable person" sitting in a cinema become different to the same person visiting an art gallery? Is the "reasonable person" in 2007 different from their counterpart 30 years earlier? And because something can claim "aesthetic merit" can it be exempted from charges of obscenity?
In practical terms we have had to think about whether we admit people of any age. Do we issue warnings? Should we set an age limit of 18, treating the show like a certificated film? What are our own self-imposed limits? No paedophilia and nothing that is savagely aggressive or degrading.
Consent is an important watchword for the show. The title, Seduction, indicates mutual action and reaction - not least between the exhibits and the viewer.
But absolutes are hard to define. Ultimately it's a matter of subtle judgments. Not least, it's fascinating being involved in an exhibition that is part of its own history. We will see what happens.
