Friday, April 3, 7 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Front Gallery presents "Deviant Arousal", an installation by Oakland based artist Kate Short. In this installation, Kate investigates the psychology of sex offenders and the relationship they have to the children they prey on. Through the use of audio and environmental stimuli, the innocence of childhood is juxtaposed with the deviant behavior patterns that drive sex offender to commit the acts of rape and molest that they do against children. Some of the topics touched on include how offenders groom children, what they do to manipulate and fool the people around them, and what thought processes they use to justify the acts they commit.
The level of denial about the prevalence of sexual abuse in our society is staggering. Statistics show that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Of those who are victimized, 90% are abused by people they know.
This multilayer installation calls upon us to look at the offenders, the victims and ourselves in hopes of understanding the role we play in allowing sexual abuse to continue. Kate says, "If we wish to stop sexual abuse from happening, we must take a deeper look at those who commit these offences and how it is they do what they do. With this knowledge, I believe that we, as a society, will be better prepared to deal with the issues of sexual abuse as they arise in our lives and in the world around us."
About the Artist
Kate Short is an installation artist who has been living in Oakland for the past eight years. She began doing installation work in 2002 when she started Abco Artspace Gallery in West Oakland. Her work often deals with difficult issues related to the human condition. Through transforming space and putting the viewer in the middle of the experience, she leaves no choice but for people to recon with the issues at hand.
