A Contemporary Dictionary of Sexual Euphemisms
Maker
Tate, Jordan
American, b. 1981
Date2005
MediumBook; Inkjet print
Dimensionsoverall: 8 3/4 in x 6 3/4 in x 3/8 in
Credit LineGift of the artist
Object number2007:149
About the ArtistJordan Tate’s limited-edition book A Contemporary Dictionary of Sexual Euphemisms defines 55 words and phrases, 27 of which include photographic illustrations. Always in a scholarly diction, the definitions begin with literal interpretations and end with the sexual slang sense of the word, complete with example sentences and derivations. The pictures have a similarly straight-faced literalness in acting out figurative language, which continues to disguise the given sexual practice while illuminating the euphemism. The text engages the function of sexual euphemism as a way for men to define and assert notions of masculinity, but the images provide a visual interpretation that reinforces just how ridiculous, unsavory, or violent that language can be. Taken alone, the images are often playful or comic, but joined with the text, they work to give shape to a more critical investigation. Jordan Tate was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He holds a B.Phil in Interdisciplinary Studies from Miami University, Oxford, OH (2003) and an MFA in photography from Indiana University, Bloomington (2007). A Contemporary Dictionary of Sexual Euphemisms was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2007. He is a Fulbright Fellow (2008-2009) and an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Cincinnati. 
Klett, Mark and Muybridge, Eadweard
1990
