Well, actually, the signs warn about Adult Content but I'm not sure why. There aren't any bare nipples or related [sexual] items in the art gallery as far as I have seen.
The art gallery and emerging technology components of SIGGRAPH have been restructured into three parts: New Tech[nology] Demos, which are scattered across the convention center; a "Slow Art" collection organized into four sub-categories: Erosion, Hybrids, Rhythms, and Traversal; and a Design and Computation collection.
The Design and Computation area is a haven for architects and people obsessed with shape grammars. Stark, monochromatic forms (rapid prototyping) that lack context or meaning. The most appealing pieces are a set of CNC constructed plywood frames based on Chinese ice-rays crafted by George Stiny. (The craftsmanship on the frames is uneven; at least two of the frames were visibly splintered by the routing process.) It is a funny thing, Stiny was part of the UCLA design department back in the mid 1990's, that part of the department that was preoccupied with the more formal aspects of design and who were ousted in favor of "Media Art" when I was a graduate student.
The "new technology demos" are scattered in three or four areas of the convention, I don't know why. New Tech was formerly E Merge, or E Tech, or Emerging Technology, and the selection is based on works that lean towards the technological (rather than the artistic) side of things.
ForceTile: Tabletop Tangible Interface With Vision-Based Force-Distribution Sensing was a nice demo... except that there was not much more to it when it was called GelForce back in 2004. 6 of the 7 team members are the same for both projects. I figured there would be some interesting applications for this by now, but things must be moving slowly.
Rome Reborn got a significant amount of floorspace, especially for a virtual walk-through of ancient Rome. I don't find anything meaningful about this project, other than the challenge of putting all the pieces together.
ZCam, 3DV's Depth-Sensing Camera. Looks promising, they are promoting a low-cost depth-sensing camera "next year". Hasn't this technology been around for a few years? I'd like to see the final product, but I won't hold my breath.
Tangible Workbench - This was a nicely executed demo using machine vision to track a variety of props on a tabletop display. A number of small refinements to an idea that has been floating around the emerging technology area for a few years.