October 21, 2010

"People touch and pose with Adam’s penis for many reasons."

"Because it’s unusual. Because it’s funny. Because it’s just the right combination of naughty and not-too-naughty. Because it’s not in a museum but in a shopping center, where the goods are meant to be handled."

Adam's penis is out there connecting with the people, spreading the love.

58 comments:

MadisonMan said...

Most of Adam is a deep dark brown; his penis, though, is worn golden from extensive handling.

So many men have that problem.

TWM said...

Now, see, this kind of stuff is probably why the IRS blocked you.

Which interestingly enough is a new definition of "cock-blocking."

Richard Dolan said...

Isn't NYC wonderful? Whatever it is, you can find (and even touch) it here. Just ask Bill Clinton.

The Dude said...

Botero is what passes for a sculptor these days. End times, I tells ya!

traditionalguy said...

We should all be greatfull that Adam was not Gay. The Roman god Priapus has reappeared like all of the pagan Roman Empire's thought life and political intrigue is reappearing every day. They are back.

Harsh Pencil said...

That's art these days. Get your schtick down and run with it as long as you can. Botero's is bronzes of fat naked people. Everyone's got to have one. Gehry's is buildings that look like a Coke can after you set an M80 off inside it.

It's all the Emperor's new clothes. Everyone either pretends to like it, or actually convinces themselves it's great. Not sure which is worse.

David said...

Watch out.

You touch it in too friendly a way, it could take your hand off.

former law student said...

provides perhaps the most memorable Manhattan meeting spot since the clock in the Biltmore Hotel.

"Meet me under the cock!"

blake said...

Large penis is always welcome.

(Learned that from HBO's "Rome" series.)

wv: latingin

No, I don't think they drank gin on that show.

jimbino said...

Part of its popularity is no doubt attributable to the sad fact that it's one of the few intact penises the American woman will ever get to touch, especially women who have had only Jewish, Muslim and WASP lovers of the boomer and older generations.

XWL said...

Isn't it a bit emasculating that nude depictions of the male form never depict a man in his 'full glory', so to speak?

jimbino said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fen said...

They once did, but - oh gross, nm.

traditionalguy said...

The celebration of large penises erects Patriarchy issues for sure. We may next be required by Title 9 to equally celebrate large vaginas.

TWM said...

"The celebration of large penises erects Patriarchy issues for sure. We may next be required by Title 9 to equally celebrate large vaginas."

Oh Lord, please don't give them any ideas. It makes me quesy thinking about the potential poses.

ricpic said...

XWL - The BC Greeks were the last culture to depict the male erection in a completely natural, unsensational way. There are literally thousands of examples of Pan or a satyr with an erection on Greek pottery between roughly 800 - 200 BC.

Unknown said...

It would be interesting to get every person who felt compelled to fondle to free associate on their motivations into a recorder.

ndspinelli said...

Next week, in a tribute to the great movie, Diner, they're going to put a popcorn box over the boner and have a photo shoot w/ Mickey Rourke and Ellen Barkin.

Penny said...

Apparently it is now old fashioned to gaze into a man's eyes and shake his hand before you fondle his penis.

Kids! Always in a rush!

jimbino said...

The Incas did a pretty good job of showing the erect penis in all its glory.

Jewish women who dream of the penis after contemplating Michelangelo's David are in for two big surprises.

Fen said...

ripic: The BC Greeks were the last culture to depict the male erection in a completely natural, unsensational way.

Any explanations for why that changed?

Jason (the commenter) said...

I remember those statues from my time in New York. I always loved them.

We recently had a big exhibit of his works down here in Saint Petersburg. Not everything he does is genius, but they were able to fill a few rooms with good stuff. (His portraits and flower paintings are wonderful.) I'd have to say Botero is my favorite contemporary painter. I could look at Our Lady of Colombia all day.

Jason (the commenter) said...

The whole penis touching thing is just part of the spontaneous joy you get from Botero.

Bartender Cabbie said...

I don't want to see a larger vagina. I just want to see the regular ole tuna flapper.

MamaM said...

Stroking for gold: what the art dealer does every time he charges the mall to redo a patina "that doesn't last very long."

ricpic said...

In answering the question about why the male erection stopped being depicted in mainstream art or the decorative arts after the BC Greeks it's important not to get the idea that the Greeks were free and easy in sexual matters, because they weren't; there never has been a culture without all kinds of restrictions and proscriptions in that area. Which is a roundabout way of saying that I don't know why the easygoing Greek approach (in their art, not their actual sexual rules) ended with them. Maybe the answer is that the BC Greeks were great compartmentalizers.

bagoh20 said...

Clearly this Adam fella has a monopoly which I intend to shatter. I'm old, but still younger than he. Step up ladies, sit at my feet and express yourselves.

Phil 314 said...

from the article:
“there’s so much hustle and bustle that if I can do something to slow the experience down and make it more pleasurable,

That's got to be the first time a hard penis has been identified as the means to "slow things down and make it more pleasurable"

Penny said...

"Stroking for gold: what the art dealer does every time he charges the mall to redo a patina "that doesn't last very long.""

Very astute, MamaM! Personally I was wondering how much Williams Sonoma paid for the honor of having Adam and Eve flanking their store.

Does my heart good to know that you can love art and be a successful capitalist too!

Penny said...

"Clearly this Adam fella has a monopoly which I intend to shatter. I'm old, but still younger than he. Step up ladies, sit at my feet and express yourselves."

If I am sitting at your feet, bagho, and still able to "express myself", I must assume that you are not only younger than Adam, but quite a bit shorter.

What I meant to say was, shorter in stature. :)

rhhardin said...

Madam I'm Adam

former law student said...

bagoh20 said...
Clearly this Adam fella has a monopoly which I intend to shatter. I'm old, but still younger than he. Step up ladies, sit at my feet and express yourselves.


I heard talk today that Ms. Synova had a death grip -- are you still game to try?

Phil 314 said...

Madam I'm Adam
Said Mr. Hard 'n

Palladian said...

"I'd have to say Botero is my favorite contemporary painter."

I never suspected you were a 'chaser!

Clyde said...

Wrap that rascal!

Does this mean that people wouldn't rub the belly of
Buddha statues for luck if he wasn't wearing pants?

Penny said...

rhhardin said...

"Madam I'm Adam"

And Sir?

While I once offered you an apple...I have since learned how to bake... PIE.

bagoh20 said...

"What I meant to say was, shorter in stature. :) "

That's why women put me on a pedestal.

Botero? Is that one of the dudes on Jersey Shore?

Anonymous said...

"Polish the helmet" has new clarity.

Penny said...

"That's why women put me on a pedestal."

Need I remind you that this is ALL about "proportion", bagho?

I would be more than happy to reach for your "pedestal"...provided you understood that my arms are capably extending to your mount?

jungatheart said...

"Madam I'm Adam"

"Said Mr. Hard 'n"

lol c3 and rh.

Wince said...

People touch and pose with Adam’s penis for many reasons. Because it’s unusual. Because it’s funny.

wv - "miestris" = me so horny

bagoh20 said...

Apparently this post is an aphrodisiac. I'll need to save it for future online trysts.

Jason (the commenter) said...

Palladian: I never suspected you were a 'chaser!

Everyone here is talking about these sculptures as if they were lewd. Or if "sex" were a major component of their purpose, which I don't get from them at all.

For me, each of Botero's creations could be a character from a picaresque story. He's using them to mock something, but you can tell that at the same time he loves the characters he has created. And because of that they are noble in their folly.

bandmeeting said...

I worked at the Williams-Sonoma, which is about 10 yards from the sculpture, and the people who play with his dick are overwhelmingly foreign tourists. It was really, really weird to see some family waltz up the the guy and pose--with the twelve-year old girl holding the guys wang.

My theory is that it was just funny seeing this guy's marriage tackle at such easy access. If this was a bunch of Yanks doing this in, say, Milan it would be a case of utter childishness by those, well, childish Norte Americanos.

madAsHell said...

No, you have it all wrong.

This is a statue of AlGore in Portland, Oregon. He's demanding that the masseuse "Take care of this!"

w/v: retriza - 3rd degree retina burns

madAsHell said...

Oh, wait! We could resurrect the "Brittney-Spears-gives-birth-to-Sean-Preston" sculpture to go along with Adam.

http://gawker.com/165659/britney-and-child-as-youve-never-seen-them-before

Be warned!! It is completely tasteless!

Fred4Pres said...

There should be some hand sanitizer there.

Methadras said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Methadras said...

Does this officially replace Dieter asking us to touch his monkey, Klaus?

MamaM said...

Jason's comment prompted me to look up Botero's sculptures. They are fun. There's a reclining female in Cartagena with both breasts rubbed to gold. I wonder if the sculptures provide a sense of sanctuary, offering the safety and freedom to publicly touch something that is and isn't real.

traditionalguy said...

IMO the appeal of a sculpture of a human in whatever pose or dress is its permanence. It is a little reassurance that people can last forever and will not be forgotten in their form and physical appearance. Of course it does not work...or does it? Like the new way of adding a picture to an obituary, it celebrates something that continues on after death. Some graves are mausoleums, like a small house, adorned with a statue of the deceased.

Mr. Bingley said...

The most popular picture in Lower Manhattan ain't of the Bull's face.

Hucbald said...

“I walked up and I was looking at his head and boom! This thing hits me right in the face,” Ms. Aderhold said.

That was worth the click, right there.

Anonymous said...

If it were a statue of Eve, you can be 100% certain there'd be no sculpted hair :(

Peter

Clyde said...

@ Peter

I Binged up the image of Eve, and she would definitely have disappointed you. Not just that, but while she has elephantine hips and thunder-thighs that would have deafened Thor, she was not balanced up top! You'd think the Mother of All would have the rest of the mommy parts!

Unknown said...

"Just on the other side of the Williams-Sonoma store stands Adam’s partner, Eve. She gets her share of attention, too, but not as much physical contact."

That's because her boobs are 10 feet off the ground.

yes said...

Hahaha. I live 3 blocks from there, I remember when that building went up. I was probably one of the first coupla hundred people to touch the Penis.

wv: dinessi
species of dinosaur that lives in cold lakes, thought to be extinct but not confirmed

yes said...

Jewish women who dream of the penis after contemplating Michelangelo's David are in for two big surprises.

I am reminded of the character Bobby Shaftoe the Marine in Cryptonomicon calling them either "anteater" or "mushroom." I don't know if WWII Marines actually used that slang or it's a literary invention of author Neal Stephenson.

wv: donali
Mountain named for textbook publisher