By – Jackie Lo

Art Sex Music is an autobiography by Cosey Fanni Tutti, an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for hertime in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey. Tutti first performed under the name Cosmosis and changed to the name of Cosey Fanni Tutti after it was suggested to her by a friend based on the title of the opera Così fan tutte, meaning literally “That’s What All Women Do”, a name suiting in so many ways.

I only loosely knew about Cosey Fanni Tutti from Throbbing Gristle but loved getting to learn about the many aspects of her life in her own words. The title Art Sex Music alone got my attention. From growing up in Hull, England and, like so many teens, had a strained relationship with parents which led to squatting with friends and living an artist’s life free from societal norms. That’s when she met Genesis P-Orridge and a tumultuous and abusive relationship formed all while founding COUM Transmissions (1969-1976) and Throbbing Gristle in 1975 with Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson and Chris Carter and together they pioneered industrial music.

In a time when women were even more shamed for their bodies, she did the unheard of. She was a model for sex magazines and film and created the Prostitution Project, an exhibition about pornography and the sex industry, that was shown in the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1975. Through an abusive relationship, an abortion and miscarriage, health issues/heart problems then following her path of stripping, modeling, art, to a Throbbing Gristle reunion and heated battle with Genesis at every turn, to her finally finding a healthy and loving relationship, you get a peek behind the scenes of an incredibly interesting life.

If you love 1970s free love, industrial music, women that don’t give a fuck about societal expectations, art shows that include nudity and used tampons, interesting autobiographies on artists, overcoming abusive relationships including parents that will never understand you or a partner that could never truly love you, but you still come out on top, a badass and inspiration to so many, then add Art Sex Music to your “to read” list.