The Dirty Show: An Interview w/ Jerry Peterson - Friction Staff

For over a decade, the Dirty Show® has been considered one of the largest and most important 

erotic art exhibitions on the planet. Each year, the exhibit features hundreds of quality erotic works, in virtually every imaginable media, from all over the world. This year, The Dirty Show is taking place February 9-11 and February 16-17at the Russell Exhibition Center in Detroit.

The Friction Staff got a chance to sit down with the creator of the Dirty Show, Jerry Peterson and pick his brain about the show’s history, what he enjoys most about the show, what he’s looking forward to at this year’s show and his hopes for the future.

FS: How long has the Dirty Show been in existence? 
JP: 19 years. It has changed venues maybe 6-7 times here in Detroit.

FS: Are you the creator behind the event? And if so what drove you to create such a show?
JP: Yes, you could consider me the creator of the Dirty Show. For years I wrote for Juxtapoz, and art magazine. I convinced a friend of mine to put on an erotic show.  He then decided to do his own show. And I decided to keep carrying on with it. The Dirty Show was really difficult in the beginning. There were few artist working in the medium 19 years ago. Most photography still had to be developed by someone else, the digital film era hadn’t taken off yet.

FS: How have you seen the show change over the years?
JP: Digital photography is the biggest factor. Anyone and everyone can now shoot erotic photography with privacy, delete a photo instantly if they don’t like it. People can easily use filters and auto focuses to enhance their photos. It was hard to find photographers who worked in erotic’s, now it seems the most common form of submission. And the change in digital technology.  In the early days digital cameras were 1.2 megapixel and now you can get digital cameras that capture images in DSLR at over a 100 megapixels. With an array of filters you can easily change the format. And I would say that another big change from when we started is the number of female participants. There are a lot more female erotic artist in every medium possible.
 
FS: Where do you see the show going in the future? 
JP: The Dirty Show just gets bigger and bigger every year.  It was super tiny when it started; we held the event in a 2k sq ft office building. Now it’s a spectacle in a 50k sq ft venue. The Russel is a good venue for now, but we may out grow it. We’d like to continue to keep it underground, we like that we’ve kept the underground vibe with the raw spaces thus far. It’s an art exhibition, not a dance or erotic porn exhibition, so a location with the right lighting, as well as underground vibe, is important.There are performance pieces, and many of them come from out of the country, but there are no porn stars signing photos. 

FS: What are you most excited to see at this years show?
JP: Jett A’dore, just coming off a tour with Dita Von Teese. I find the boylesque more entertaining, its unexpected, and humorous. Jett is great as getting close to the “reveal “without revealing. He’s a master at the clever planning and puts on a great show. Roxie Delight, recently names top burlesque performer in the world will also be joining us. I love it, the whole show, its like a Twisted version of America’s got Talent. More importantly, it simply makes people happy.

For more infomation visit: 

www.dirtydetroit.com or e-mail 

The Dirty Show @ info@dirtyshow.org

Photos from previous events: