Peter Sotos

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Peter Sotos
Peter Sotos.jpg
Sotos in 1985
BornPeter Gus Sotos
(1960-04-17) April 17, 1960 (age 64)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupation
  • Writer
  • musician
  • visual artist

Peter Sotos (born April 17, 1960) is an American writer and musician who is best known for his books and for being a member of the British noise music band Whitehouse. Sotos was arrested in 1985 on child pornography charges that were published within an issue of his zine Pure, which made Sotos the first person charged with child pornography in Chicago, Illinois . [1] [2]

Contents

In his books, Sotos writes about sadistic sexual criminals and sexually violent pornography in great detail, particularly involving children. His books tend to be first-person narratives, taking on the point of view of the sexual predator in order to explore sadistic and pedophilic sexual impulses. His former publisher Adam Parfey has described one of his books as "transcripts of horrifying, embarrassing human degradation." [3] He often writes about real-life child sexual abuse cases as well, including the kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Melissa Ackerman [1] and the kidnapping and sexual exploitation of 5-year-old Masha Allen. [4]

Biography

Education

Sotos is a graduate of Holy Cross High School. He attended Northern Illinois University for one year and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for four years.

In 1984, while the day-care sex-abuse hysteria phenomenon was sweeping the nation and while attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sotos began producing the controversial magazine Pure, notable as the first zine dedicated to serial killer lore. The original publications are now collectors' items.

In addition to offering many details about the crimes of serial killers and pedophiles, the text in the magazine praises them, describing them using such terms as "genius", "glorious", "exemplary" and "illustrious" and stating that child abuse is a "sublime pleasure." [5] The text is juxtaposed with pictures and newspaper clippings relevant to the crimes discussed, showing that the news media also abuse the victims. A short manifesto introducing the first issue says the magazine "satiates and encourages true lusts."

A photocopy from a magazine of child pornography was used as the cover of issue #2 of Pure which led to Sotos pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in 1985, receiving a suspended sentence. A copy of the magazine was found by Scotland Yard in Edinburgh, in the home of a suspect in a series of child abductions, murders and grave robbings, which led to Sotos' arrest. [6]

Musical and artistic endeavors

From 1983 to 2003, Sotos was a member of the British power electronics trio Whitehouse, where he performed using a EDP WASP synthesizer. [7]

In 1992, Sotos released the solo album Buyer's Market, which consisted of sound collages of spoken word samples from parents, law-enforcement officers and victims of sex crimes, including child sexual abuse. [8] The album was produced by Steve Albini. [9] Sotos also released Proxy [10] and Waitress [11] in 2005.

Peter Sotos makes video collages, and notably presented Waitress I, II and III at the Palais de Tokyo in April 2005. [12] A selection of Sotos' paper archives has been shown for the first time in 2017 at the New Galerie in Paris.

Personal life

Sotos cites radical feminist Andrea Dworkin and French writer Marquis de Sade as his main literary influences. [13]

Steve Albini, who produced the album Buyer's Market for Sotos, described Sotos as a friend and a former influence while speaking to MEL Magazine in 2022. He said: "A lot of his writing is extremely difficult to read. It's repellent. You're brought into the mind of a sadist, pretty convincingly. And I feel like that experience, reading that stuff, is shocking to your core in the way that the horrors of the reality of those things should be." [14] On another occasion, he wrote: "Peter Sotos is a lovely fellow whom I trust implicitly, despite his writing evoking a truly primal disgust in me." [15] Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu has mentioned Sotos as an influence. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Bibliography

Works

Discography

YearAlbum nameAlbum details
1992Buyer's Market
  • Label: AWB Recording
  • Format: CD
2005Proxy
  • Label: Creation Books
  • Format: CD
2005Waitress
  • Label: Creation Books
  • Format: CD [20]

In the 2015 Argentine film Love (2015), director Gaspar Noé shows Lazy, one of Sotos' books, in the hero's bookshelves. [21] The American writer is also thanked in the closing credits. [22] [23]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 "Porn publisher 'compassionate'". The Dispatch. December 6, 1985. p. 19. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  2. DiTrapano, Blake Butler and Giancarlo (February 5, 2013). "What Is Obscene?". Vice. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  3. "Pure Filth: Perversions on Parade". DangerousMinds. April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  4. "More trouble for Amazon, this time with photos". NBC News. November 11, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  5. Tribune, Chicago (December 6, 1985). "$100,000 BOND IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  6. Linnet Myers and Dave Schneidman (December 6, 1985). "$100,000 Bond in Child Pornography Case". Chicago Tribune .
  7. https://www.compulsiononline.com/live_whitehouse.htm
  8. Discogs: Buyer's Market by Peter Sotos
  9. I am Steve Albini, ask me anything
  10. Discogs: Proxy by Peter Sotos
  11. Discogs: Waitress by Peter Sotos
  12. "Palais de Tokyo: Program from April 13 to 30, 2005". Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  13. "Peter Sotos Interview – Hoover Hog". January 21, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  14. Burnett III, Zaron (November 8, 2021). "'I'm overdue for a discussion about my role in inspiring 'edgelord' shit': a conversation with Steve Albini". MEL Magazine . Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  15. "Steve Albini doesn't like Odd Future (read his reasons why)". BrooklynVegan . August 9, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  16. Pitchfork: "An Interview with Xiu Xiu" (April 9, 2006)
  17. Stereogum: "Xiu Xiu & Michael Gira Cover Queen & Bowie" (February 29, 2008)
  18. San Francisco Bay Guardian: "In the Weirdness of Xiu Xiu" (March 16, 2010)
  19. Under the Radar: "2014 Artist Survey: Xiu Xiu" (January 28, 2015)
  20. New Galerie presents What's Up Doc?
  21. YouTube: "Omi Is Pregnant", excerpt from Love by Gaspar Noé
  22. IMDb: Love by Gaspar Noé
  23. Texte zur Kunst #98: Media (June 2015)