From the outside, 37 Sawyer Ave. looks to be just like any other house in the Medford/Somerville area. But upon walking through its doors, an unsuspecting visitor would be in for a surprise: the colorful walls are covered in pornography.
Of course, it's not just any porn adorning the walls of the Arts Haus - it's artistically rendered pictures created by the house residents inspired by vintage 1970s "Playboy" and "Penthouse" photos, in mediums ranging from watercolor to crayon. And it's not always there - the walls were decorated in celebration of "Porno Weekend," just one of the themed events hosted each weekend at the Haus.
"Porno Weekend" featured a viewing on Thursday night of "Inside Deep Throat" (2005), a documentary detailing the famous film's cultural impact on society, and an "Erotic Collage" on Friday night, in which guests were given art supplies and access to a collection of vintage 1970s porn magazines in order to create their own renditions of the photos, followed by a "Boogie Nights"-themed party.
"We don't always go that extreme," senior and Arts Haus resident Carmen Brier said when explaining the Arts Haus. "This house is more about people who have an artistic temperament living together with the freedom to basically do what you want in your space, be it painting the common room or doing things like a pornography party ... You don't have to be into a specific thing to live here; you just have to be appreciative of the art."
Despite its loosely defined status, Arts Haus residents are adamant about one thing: they are not the Crafts House. "We definitely want to distinguish ourselves from the Crafts House ... which has been really difficult," Brier said. "[The Crafts House] has the Crafts Center, which is a really great source and a wonderful thing."
Brier, who was the Haus president last year, explained that the Arts Haus wasn't always what it is today: "The group living here before was a totally different perspective. Four years ago ... we sort of re-established the house, and we started to try to do more events," she said.
Weekend events such as the Erotic Collage are planned by the Haus's art director, a position filled this year by sophomore Nora Chovanec. "So far, we did a night with henna that was actually really successful, we did 'create your own rubber stamps,' where you carved your own rubber stamps ... last Friday," Chovanec said. "The first night we did Sculpey; next week we're doing finger painting."
"I also want to do pinhole cameras," Chovanec added.
The events are free to attend, Chovanec explained: "We have house dues that each of us pays" which go towards art supplies, kitchen supplies, food for a house dinner every Sunday and parties, she said.
Brier explained that Art Haus parties are unlike frat parties. "We love costumes; we want people to come to our parties for the party and for the people, not to drink alcohol and leave for someone else," she said. "For example, [the Boogie Nights party] is BYOB."
The Arts Haus party philosophy serves as the house's mantra. "We just want people to have a place to go to do whatever art they want, or just hang around without any pressure ... we really encourage people visiting and stopping by at any time of day," Brier said.
Despite its laid-back, no-pressure approach, the Arts Haus residents take their roles seriously. "The people who live here want it to be a nice place, so they make it a nice place," Brier said. Besides just a president and art director, the house also has a kitchen director, a treasurer, a Boston liaison who notifies the house of interesting events, and other officers.
Sophomore Martin Bourqui is in charge of the Haus's new weekly film series, which began last year. "Every Thursday at 8:00 we have a weekly film series; we've been trying to get the word out more and more," Bourqui said. The viewings feature free refreshments.
"We usually show some pretty cool stuff, usually on the indie side," Bourqui said. This year, the Arts Haus has screened "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" (1972), "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" (1997), Pedro Alm??dovar's "All About my Mother" (1999) and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), as well the aforementioned "Inside Deep Throat".
Bourqui explained that the house debated over whether or not to show "Deep Throat" (1972) or "Inside Deep Throat" but ultimately decided on the documentary rather than the original film.
"I thought it might be better if we weren't all looking at porn for two hours; I thought that might get kind of awkward," he said. "We're showing 'Velvet Goldmine' (1998) next week."
Generally, Bourqui chooses several movie ideas and presents them to the rest of the Arts Haus residents to decide which films to show. "I've got a bunch of different ideas," he said. "I really want to show 'The Kids are Alright' (1979), which is a documentary about The Who, considered one of the best rock documentaries of all time."
"I'd love to show another Alm??dovar movie," Bourqui added.
