FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 26, 2021
Franconia Sculpture Park
Contact: Alyssa Auten, Communications & Creative Director
alyssaauten@franconia.org | www.franconia.org
FRANCONIA SCULPTURE PARK HOSTS OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH FOR ASSUMING THE ECOSEXUAL POSITION: THE EARTH AS LOVER AND US PREMIERE OF THE ONE MINUTES—IMAGINE THE EARTH IS YOUR LOVER WITH ANNIE SPRINKLE AND BETH STEPHENS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Franconia Sculpture Park in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Press and The One Minutes is pleased to present the official book launch for Assuming the Ecosexual Position: The Earth as Lover by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens with Jennie Klein. Published August 15, 2021 by the University of Minnesota Press, the book presents the story of the artistic collaboration between the originators of the ecosex movement, their diverse communities, and the Earth. Assuming the Ecosexual Position tells of childhood moments that pointed to a future of ecosexuality—for Annie, in her family swimming pool in Los Angeles; for Beth, savoring forbidden tomatoes from the vine on her grandparents’ Appalachian farm. The book describes how the two came together as lovers and collaborators, how they took a stand against homophobia and xenophobia, and how this union led to the miraculous conception of the Love Art Laboratory, which involved influential performance artists Linda M. Montano, Reverend Billy Talen, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, theorist Paul B. Preciado, and feminist pornographer Madison Young. Please join Franconia on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 for a meet and greet and book signing with the artists, an outdoor book hunt throughout the sculpture park, and a night of ecosexy short films which explore mad, passionate, and fierce love for the Earth.
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at Franconia Sculpture Park
An Ecosexy Book Launch Happening with Annie Sprinkle, Beth Stephens, and Jennie Klein
6pm-6:30pm: Meet & Greet, Book Signing, and Drinks with Annie Sprinkle, Beth Stephens, and Jennie Klein at Franconia Commons
6:30-7:30pm: Assume the Ecosexual Position: A Peripatetic Walk and Book Hunt through Franconia Sculpture Park
7:30-8:30pm: The US Premiere of Imagine the Earth is Your Lover, a document of the Ecosex Movement. 23 one-minute films and other ecosexy shorts from around the world curated by Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle. Watch the trailer at: https://vimeo.com/463829285
8:30pm-9:00pm: Q&A and Discussion
For more information on Assuming the Ecosexual Position, please visit: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/assuming-the-ecosexual-position
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens have been life partners and 50/50 collaborators on multimedia projects since 2002. They are authors of the Ecosex Manifesto and producers of the award-winning film Goodbye Gauley Mountain and Water Makes us Wet, a documentary feature that premiered at documenta 14 and screened at MoMA in New York. Sprinkle is a former sex worker with a PhD in human sexuality. Stephens holds a PhD in performance studies and is the founding director of E.A.R.T.H Lab at University of California at Santa Cruz.
Jennie Klein is professor of art history at Ohio University. She is editor of Letters from Linda M. Montano and coeditor of Histories and Practices of Live Art and The M Word: Real Mothers in Contemporary Art.
About Franconia Sculpture Park
The mission of Franconia Sculpture Park is to foster an inclusive community to create and contemplate contemporary art inspired by nature and our ever-evolving world. Founded in 1996, Franconia operates a 50-acre outdoor museum, active artist residency program, and a depth and breadth of arts programming for a diverse and engaged public.
Franconia is located at 29836 St. Croix Trail in Shafer, Minnesota, and is free and open to the public 365 days a year from 8am to 8pm. Please visit us at www.franconia.org.