The street art performance Intellectual Whores offers a humorous, dionysiac and socially critical view of the (under)use of intellectual potential of Slovene female (and male – often known as male prostitutes) intellectuals. The system provides proper education yet fails to provide proper employment. Female intellectuals are seen as superfluous and unnecessary human resources, especially through the eyes of the economic crisis we are facing today. A quick look around Europe, however, reveals that all the states which are seen as cradles of humanities have long understood the role of science and art in establishing a stable society and solid nation. Intellectual Whores is a chance for all female artists and scientists to make a little extra on the side. If only for an hour, the project will perhaps save them from translating, proof-reading, text-writing, designing, web-editing or give them a chance to break free from serving as an underpaid assistant set-designer, dramaturge, editor, coordinator or pop-news tabloid writer. And, who knows, the Whores might even set them free from unemployment. By occupying the position of an intellectual whore they will be able to offer their clients what they do best – a chat about their fields of expertise and interest.
Woody Allen, The Whore of Mensa: "I mean my wife is great, don't get me wrong. But she won't discuss Pound with me. Or Eliot. I didn't know that when I married her. See, I need a woman who's mentally stimulating, Kaiser. And I'm willing to pay for it. I don't want an involvement - I want a quick intellectual experience, then I want the girl to leave. Christ, Kaiser, I'm a happily married man." In a time when a member of the Christian party demands that the posters for the show Look, a Whore! not be shown at the same time as the posters of the party (or at any time, for that matter) and in a time when whores are seen as society’s biggest blemish, the project reminds us all that the basic human rights belong to prostitutes as well. In some EU countries a prostitute is a legal position of employment with corresponding social contributions. Society tends to forget the more obvious and far greater intellectual prostitution we are forced to deal with in order to survive.
Morally dubious? Without a doubt. Intellectual Whores are here for your oral pleasures - debates on literature, philosophy, sociology and art. You might learn something from them; they might learn something from you.
Intellectual interaction rejuvenates everyone. Intellectual Whores are a co-production of Public Institute Maribor Youth Centre and Public Institute Maribor 2012 – European Capital of Culture and partnered by the Gulag Institute for Modern Arts and Culture. Project authors: Zoran Srdić Janežič and Jana Putrle Srdić.