SVSU Art Faculty Exhibit: Work by Professor Shaun Bangert

Concubine, Courtesans, Call Girls & Madams: A History of Sex Work, by Shaun Bangert

The Saginaw Valley State University Art Faculty Exhibit gives students of the art department the opportunity to experience the artwork of their professors and instructors, and showcases the wide variety of talent amongst the art faculty.  Painting, photography, ceramic, and digital media are all included in the exhibit, as well as a historical installation by Professor Shaun Bangert. However, the historical topic may not be what students expect. Bangert’s installation highlights the history of prostitution.

Titled Concubines, Courtesans, Call Girls & Madams: A History of Sex Work, the installation is made of hanging and rotating images of famous women of these titles. On the reverse of these images is information on who these women were, when they lived, and what they were famous for. The depictions vary from painted portraiture to modern photography, and convey the ‘world’s oldest profession’ through varying attitudes “depending on the culture, religious beliefs, and social conditions of the time.” In the center of the rotating images and attached to the gallery wall is a small red box with a slit in it, inviting viewers to an up-close peep show.

The purpose of the installations is not to promote prostitution, says Bangert, “but to illustrate the range of the profession, and question whether the criminalization of such an age-old occupation should, or can, be eradicated.”

The SVSU Art Faculty Exhibit will be on display until February 7th. For gallery hours visit the SVSU University Art Gallery webpage at svsu.edu/artgallery.




Amy Gibas
Gallery Assistant
University Art Gallery
Saginaw Valley State University