"I don't know what the definition of pornography is and nobody else does either. Pornography is somebody else's erotica that you don't like. People are interested in their own sexuality and they've always reflected it in their art. End of story." - Erica Jong

In a feature article Hustler Magazine did on Kroll's photographs several years ago they call him a "prick with a vision". I prefer to call Eric an artist who isn't afraid to put it in your face and say here it is, get over it or get out. Kroll's images, sprinkled with subtle references to his heroes like Man Ray and John Willie, dance in a carnival of serious sensuality. That's not to say that his work lacks a sense of (sick) humor. Humor plays a large roll in much of Kroll's work. For example the photograph of his muse/girlfriend Gwen covered in birdseed, lounging in nothing but a pair of horn-rimmed glasses entitled "Girlfriend As Birdfeeder" or "Vagina Dentata" in which Gwen again is caught peering at the many cactineedlesr protruding from the inside of her thighs.

Born the day after Man Ray's marriage to Juliet Browner (Oct 24, 1946) Kroll, since the late 1980's, has felt free enough to explore with photography the 'unmentionable' subject of sexuality through his eyes. This November The Shooting Gallery will be exhibiting several hundred images in the first ever retrospective of Kroll's work dating back to the publication ofSex Objects , an Addison House publication (1977), including work from Fetish Girls, Tachen 1994, Eric Kroll's Beauty Parade , Tachen 1997, and the two volumes of The Transformations of Gwen , NBM publications 2000, 2001.

Ps. Expect something irregular, almost irreverent, the night of Kroll's opening reception.

"Every Mother's Nightmare"
Open to press 6pm to 8pm
Open to public 8pm to 11pm
Showing November 4 through December 6
@ The Shooting Gallery
839 Larkin St
San Francisco Ca 94109
www.shootinggallerysf.com
415-931-8035 fax 415-931-5943