Fleshbot: straight, museums

Maybe if we can tear ourselves away from...

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:45:18 EDT

Maybe if we can tear ourselves away from the AVN Expo the next time we're in Vegas we'll check out the new Erotic Heritage Museum for ourselves—but for now we'll just have to trust the word of people who have actually been there. Although it's not hard to believe that a sex museum is somehow the classiest place in Las Vegas. (latimes.com + nerve.com)

If you're looking for a tourist destination...

Dashiell Bennett — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:22:53 EDT

If you're looking for a tourist destination this summer, may we recommend the Icelandic Phallological Museum? It may sound silly, but can you think of a better use of your time on Iceland than a stop at the penis museum? (reuters.com + ismennt.is - thanks Tits)

Cruel, Cruel Artists Try To Thwart Your Love Of Porn

Dashiell Bennett — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:15:16 EST

We are distraught and disturbed by this mysterious device that is masquerading as an "art project" but may actually be a devilish instrument of torture. Dubbed S.O.C.D., for "Sexual Obsessive Compulsive Disorder", it's a DVD player and TV hooked up to a rubbery, dildo-like sensor that measures the sexual arousal of the viewer. Here's the catch: The more aroused you become, the more distorted the picture becomes. So if you want to keep watching your porn, you have to force yourself to not get turned on. What kind of twisted mind would devise such an evil contraption? Porn should be enjoyed the way Zeus and Eros and all those other freaky gods intended! It sounds like the kind of thing that belongs in Guantanamo Bay, not an art museum. Don't worry, the Geneva Convention is definitely going to hear about this!

· "Do you want to replace the existing normal?" (we-make-money-not-art.com, via slashdong.org)

The Rotterdam Natural History Museum wants...

Dashiell Bennett — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:09:27 EDT

The Rotterdam Natural History Museum wants you to give it crabs. Seriously, they're looking for a crab louse specimen (a.k.a. pubic lice) for their collection before the bikini wax mafia cause the whole species to die off. And your own private "collection" just cleared up! What rotten luck! (iht.com via shakewellbeforeuse.com)

All's fair in love, war and museum exhibitions...

Dashiell Bennett — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:00:51 EDT

All's fair in love, war and museum exhibitions about sexuality in wartime. (There's a pretty interesting one going on in Paris right now.) How come people still haven't figured out that if we got rid of war, there'd be a lot more time for sex?

Ocutlos: A Photographic Salute To The Ass

Dashiell Bennett — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:31:25 EDT

Now this is the kind of art we can get behind. Artistic funhouse Fundación Canal in Madrid has just opened its newest exhibition, "Ocultus," which is nothing more than photographic showcase of butts. Asses. Cans. Bootys. If it's a human posterior and someone took a picture of it—and they should because it lasts longer—there's a good chance it might be featured in this show. It better be a good picture though, because the likes Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Mapplethorpe, Man Ray and many otros (we mean "others") are having their work displayed and they kinda know what they're doing. No matter how you choose to approach the human form, you gotta get up at the crack dawn and not let your rear guard down or else you might get bitten in the ... you know.

· Ocultos: Fundacion Canal (fundacioncanal.com, via Gridskipper)

Previously: Phat Bottomed Girls Make The Rockin' World Go Round, Asses Galore Megagallery: More Than Enough To Go Around, Cu-Cu: The Ass Blog

"Seduced": The History Of Erotic Art

Dashiell Bennett — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:46:23 EDT

Even though we're happy living in this digital age, it's nice to know that if Fleshbot had been around some 2000 years ago, we still would have had plenty of naughty material to blog about. (Or carve into big stone tablets about?) So when a straight-laced British museum like the Barbican in London wants to put on a show titled "Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now," the hard part isn't finding centuries-old smut to showcase, it's finding a place to put it all.

When "Seduced"—which is erroneously billed as the "first ever mainstream exhibition devoted to sex"—opens this Friday, it will feature everything from classical Roman artifacts to ancient Japanese paintings to modern day photographers like Jeff Koons and Nan Goldin. The moral of the story: Pervs have always been with us, so take care of that copy of "Debbie Loves Dallas" because you never know ... it might be in a museum some day.

· "The art of seduction: sex through the ages, from every possible angle" (story + slideshow @ guardian.co.uk)

Previously: The Best Of Swedish Erotica - In London, "The Naked Portrait" @ Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Touring London's Sex "Theme Park"

Artist Edward Kienholz' landmark 1966 sculpture...

Fleshbot — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:37:55 EDT

Artist Edward Kienholz' landmark 1966 sculpture depicting a couple screwing in the back seat of a vintage Dodge coupe is now on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in a new installation that more closely matches the artist's intentions: "You become a witness to this tawdry act happening in the dark on the side of the road, something that clearly anybody participating in that would not want to be seen." Unless they're into that sort of thing, in which case they'd be screwing in an actual car on the side of the road instead of in some museum. (NY Times)

"Intimate Encounters" @ Museum Of Sex

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:14:17 EDT

The Museum of Sex in Manhattan is currently hosting a stunning exhibition of photographs featuring various amateurs in sensual and occasionally erotic poses. The only thing that separates these pics from the rest of the hotness in the museum's collection is that all the participants are physically disabled. Watch as photographer Belinda Mason-Lovering and one her models, Denise Beckwith (that's her as the Little Mermaid) explain why and learn more about this unique project after the jump.

"Intimate Encounters" was conceived as way for disabled persons to express their sexuality and more important, show the world that sex doesn't end where a disability begins. Crazy, but true! Based in Australia, Mason-Lovering found dozens of willing participants and worked with them to create individual expressions of the subject's feelings and spirit. Her mermaid was a swimmer at the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2004 who said she wanted the pictures to prove that she was an independent person, fully capable of taking care of herself and her body and the end result accomplishes just that. Unfortunately, some people still need a reminder that disabled people are still people in every single way, but this series provides that in an beautiful and moving way.

"Intimate Encounters" will be on display in New York until September 16, but you can see even more of the photos at Belinda's website.

· Belinda Mason-Lovering (mason-lovering.com.au)
· museumofse[x] (museumofsex.com)

Previously: "Kink" @ Museum of Sex, Sexy Wheelchair Girls,
Disabled Nudes Calendar

"The Naked Portrait" @ Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Fleshbot — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:30:39 EDT

"Sexy" and "Scotland" aren't usually concepts you expect to find in the same sentence (unless like us you have a fondness for swigging Glenlivet in between sips of XXX Vitamin Water throughout the day, in which case everything starts to look sexy after a while), but beneath that tweedy, damp facade lies a society with the cultural openmindedness to put together a museum show featuring naked bodies from the entire history of photography—and at their National Portrait Gallery, no less. Since "The Naked Portrait" features such art historical heavyweights as Lucien Freud, Richard Avedon, and David Hockney, it's more about Great Art than cheap thrills ... though there's plenty of those to be had if if your idea of cultural enrichment depends on the amount of naked boobage on display. Heck, if there were more shows like this in US museums, we might actually get ourselves out of the house to look at art instead of sitting around looking at naked bodies on our computers all day!

· "The Naked Portrait" (exhibition info @ nationalgalleries.org; see preview gallery here - via sexblo.gs)
Thumbnail: Jane Birkin (1969) by David Bailey

Previously: "Eloquent Nude": Edward Weston and Charis Wilson, World Museum Of Erotic Art, Sweatnapper: Modern Nude Ambrotypes, Touring London's Sex "Theme Park", Old Master Smut By David Nicholson

Morning Wood: Emphasizing Genitalia Since 2003

Dashiell Bennett — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:52:07 EDT

· A filly may have won the big horse race this weekend, but Michelle Marsh would prefer to be the one doing the riding. Is she hiring stable boys? (dailypoa.com)

· The Australian Government issued a warning to Penthouse for publishing photos that "emphasized genitals," to which Penthouse replied, "Umm ... duh?" (xbiz.com)

· The New York State Bar Association was all excited to have a "sexual empowerment consultant" speak at their divorce lawyer meeting, until they found out she was ex-pornstar Sydnee Steele. What exactly did they think a "sexual empowerment consultant" does? (wsj.com)

· A few museum patrons were quite upset to learn that Marilyn Monroe once posed for naked photos. Wait until they hear about what happened to President Kennedy. (wkyc.com + daytondailynews.com)

· Brooklyn, Missouri, is the little town that could—thanks to four strip clubs, a massage parlor and an adult bookstore that keep the place alive. It's just like the movie "It's A Wonderful Life," isn't it? (stltoday.com)

· What if they gave out adult awards and none of the winners came to pick them up? Can they still put them on their mantle? (adultfyi.com)

* * * * *

Previously: Morning Wood Archives/Wet Spots Archives

Touring London's Sex "Theme Park"

Dashiell Bennett — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:19:15 EDT

Despite news reports which describe it otherwise, we're not sure if the Amora Academy of Sex and Relationships really qualifies as a "sex theme park." After all, there's no curved-penis roller coasters or a vagina jungle cruise—not even a Tunnel of Love. What it does have is a plethora of sexual exhibits like the Spankometer and the wall of willies, all disguised as an educational center. Think of it as an interactive art museum, complete with dolls that light up when you touch their naughty bits. Amora opened to the public this week in London, and The Sun has put together a preview package with photos, video and what might be the longest article to ever appear in the tabloid. Hey, they take their sex very seriously over there—and so does the Academy—but that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to giggle a little bit at the orgasm face video collage. You're only human.

· "'Sex theme park' first ride" (thesun.co.uk)

Previously: Disneyland Paris Orgy Video, Splash Mountain Flashers