[Best of 2015] The Year in Erotic Art (NSFW)

This article contains adult content. 

With climates—both cultural and otherwise—a'changing tides, sending our moral compass spinning, it's no surprise that this year's had record highs for art that gets our blood flowing. Erotic art, porn, call it what you will; it's on our walls, on our screens, and even in our grandparents' houses, coming from photographers, fiber artists, and even Cannes award-winning directors. Sometimes, it doesn't involve people. Other times, you meet artists who finds their subjects—in this case, nude selfies—by putting their phone numbers on Tinder,

This year we've made it a point to keep our fingers on the pulse of erotica, both pop and past, so without further ado, here are some highlights from the year in erotic art:

+ The French-born, Amsterdam-based photographer Sophie Ebrard gave us an inside look at porn with her stunning behind-the-scenes images of director Gazzman's productions, It’s Just Love. Challenging stigmas surrounding seeing sex in general, Ebrard invited guests to view the work at her home in Amsterdam.

+ Artist Paul Mccarthy's cheeky Tree sculpture, which looks an awful lot like a butt plug, was plagued by protestors, proving once again that conservatives need to loosen up.

+ Artist Conrad Ruiz tickled our turn-on for Calvin Klein ads with his large-scale oil and watercolor depictions of machismo, via abs, guns, and gangsters.

+ Lawyer and writer Madeleine Holden, of Critique My Dick Pic fame, probed the complicatedly shallow depths of the male nude.

+ We rode the rising wave that is feminist porn in Sweden, speaking with director Ninja Thyberg and female porn collective founder Zara Kjellner.

+ Over the summer, we took a deep, sticky dive into the world of ero guro nansensu ("erotic grotesque nonsense"), a genre of Japanese illustration where the more taboo and disturbing an image is, the more prized it becomes.

+ Peter Palm and Milo Moiré's THE TWELVE MUSES calendar got us revved and ready for 2016.

+ It must have been a good year for calendars, because both Andrea Mary Marshall and Annie Leibovitz took on the Pirelli classic.

+ Speaking of Milo Moiré, the vaginal egg-painting performance artist walked around a German museum naked with a baby, and was arrested for taking nude selfies in front of the Eiffel tower.

Succubus from bernadinism on Vimeo.

+ We licked our lips at the nude succubus women of Alva Bernadine.

+ Photographer Jonathan Leder gave us insight into reviving the classic pinup, and then gave us a new publication dedicated to snapshots of influential women.

What art tickled your fancy this year? Let us know in the comments below. 

Related:

[Best of 2015] The Year in Projection Mapping

[Best of 2015] The Year in Photography

[Best of 2015] The Year in Sculpture