Gothic sex! (No, really!)

(There, that title oughta bring in more search-engine results, eh Carnacki?) In all actuality, I'd have probably forgotten about this if Carnacki hadn't made his earlier crack. It's gothic sex, alright - but of the more artistic variety - and no, I don't mean just more expensive pr0n, you pervs. This is high art and culcha' we're talkin' bout here. So there. Seriously though - this Guardian Unlimited article caught my eye last week, and I'm sure you'll understand why:

Sex and the supernatural Gothic exhibition at Tate Britain to explore the sensual and the monstrous Xan Brooks Monday October 31, 2005 The Guardian Halloween would seem the perfect date to visit an exhibition of dark art from the leading lights of the Gothic movement. Yet, in a case of the trick preceding the treat, audiences will have to wait until February to see Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination at Tate Britain in London. The exhibition explores the taste for supernatural themes and perverse sexuality that flourished in Britain between 1770 and 1830, with particular emphasis on the work of William Blake and Henry Fuseli. Its centrepiece is Fuseli's vast painting, Satan Starting From the Touch of Ithuriel's Spear, which has not been exhibited since it was unveiled at the Royal Academy in 1880.

Supernatural themes and perverse sexuality - now that's what I call an exhibition! What are plane tickets to London going for these days? Seriously, though - the Gothic and/or Romantic movement (Gothic might be a better term for the early Romantics) represents one of those cultural moments in England's history when people were feeling oppressed by technology and industrialization - for instance, see also the Pre-Raphaelites. In the case of the Gothic and later Romantic movements, it's a reaction to the Industrial Revolution which is just gathering steam (as it were). I'd really love to go see this, as I eat this stuff up - but alas, I don't think it will be so... sigh Better get me some laudanum to get over the suffering... (was that my outside voice?) The Tate's site for this upcoming exhibit may be found here. Isn't it nice to see that we do live up to our search engine results from time to time?