Haunted and Melting…Vaginas?

There are times here on this blog where I like to write about things that are somewhat controversial. This week, I’ve run across two such things, oddly enough, with the same subject matter. I’d first like to say I’m open to experiencing new and different forms of art and what I think is controversial (or just plain weird) may not be to you, but it is what it is – beauty, beholder, and all that jazz.

I’m always interested in reading different books – different genres, authors, and whatnot. This week, I saw a book titled The Haunted Vagina on amazon.com. I, being the open-minded person I consider myself to be, had to see more than the cover and read the synopsis for this, uh, book. In very brief summary, the girl – Stacy – has a vagina that is a “gateway to another world.” A creature comes out of Stacy’s vajayjay, so her boyfriend, Steve, decides he will go in and check things out, but guess what? He doesn’t want out because he’s met an attractive woman named Fig. One more time: He doesn’t want out because he’s met an attractive women named Fig. In his girlfriend’s vagina. Seriously, folks, I couldn’t make this up if I tried. You can check it out here, but you’re out of luck if you want to buy it in print: it’s temporarily out of stock (you can buy it on Kindle though!).

The Deflowering

Today’s other bit of news surrounds the same topic, the vagina, but in an odd form. Peter De Cupere is an olfactory artist (he uses the sense of smell artistically) and created an ice statue (what he dubs “frozen holy water”) of the Madonna entitled The Deflowering. Here’s where it gets interesting. The scent of vagina flows to the nostrils when the statue begins to melt. That’s right, y’all. It smells like vagina when it melts. Why, you ask? De Cupere said, “Religion has always been an interesting issue in art. The reason is simple, because it's conservative, an old and closed idea and art is the opposite, it's progressive and open -- like a vagina." Hmmm. Ok, so how did he acquire such a scent? In a lab, of course. If you want to read a little more and see the experience on video, click here. 

What do you think about these two? Would you read the book or go to see smell the statue melt?

mw

Who's up for a scary movie?

Halloween is fast approaching, and you know what that means...horror movies!

Have you heard of (or seen) The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)? It's based on an actual syndrome that was first named in 1979, although it was experienced by it's namesake, Henri-Marie Beyle (his pen name was Stendhal) in 1817. Wikipedia defines it as:

"A psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place."






The plot of the movie, then, surrounds Anna Manni, a policewoman trying to capture a serial rapist and killer. She, however, suffers from Stendhal Syndrome and the killer lures her into a trap inside the Uffizi museum in Florence, where her troubles are just beginning....

Have you already seen this film? Let me know what you thought of it in the comments.

mw