| KELSEY IS IN
A DIFFERENT PLAY THAN THE ONE I SAID
mercury is still
retrograde.
 |
Kelsey
is NOT in the neil Simon play, "THE SUNSHINE BOYS" at
The Majestic Theater.
She has shockingly jumped ship mid-show causing scandal
and gossip galore and is now in, "THE BOYS NEXT DOOR"
also conveniently located at The
Majestic Theater.
TRANSLATION: I totally screwed up
the name of the play and am now trying to fix that
without actually accepting blame.
For this reason, if no other, we must all go see Kelsey
sweetly play Sheila in the real play, "The Boys Next
Door".
DISCLAIMER: We all still admire Neil Simon and no
harm is meant. But he is out of the picture in the
actual boys next door play as he did not write it
- hence his *removal* from the promo pic.
|
~and since I am sending out a correction/redaction/apologaction
I thought I would add in the press release for a show opening
in NYC tomorrow at the Museum of Sex at which my dear old
pal Jerry Weinstein is the guru/publicist/communicationist.
Some of you may remember Jerry from when he came to visit
2 years ago for the big Stone Soup Concrete New Years Eve
bash. He was the smiley guy who wore the fab maroon velvet
pants. so read on --->
You New
Yorkers on this list, you --- you just go to this exhibit and tell all your pals
and say hi to Jerry for me.
OPENING
TOMORROW - Peeping, Probing & Porn: Four Centuries of
Graphic Sex in Japan
On Display at the Museum of Sex
IMAGE:
#14126_b
Attributed to Eisen
ca. 1800
Woodblock print book
Museum of Sex Collection |
Opening
March 16, 2006 at the Museum of Sex, Peeping, Probing
& Porn: Four Centuries of Graphic Sex in Japan
shatters a long-standing myth – that erotica, as a
genre, began in the West.
During the Edo period, (1630-1868) before Japan was
opened to the West, it supported a flourishing trade
in erotic imagery, called Shunga or "spring pictures."
Edo, now Tokyo, was the epicenter of commerce, offering
its population of bachelors gainful employment by
day and the fantasy of the Yoshiwara, the licensed
brothel district, by night.
Unlike the rarified works made for the affluent, Shunga's
woodblock prints were mass-produced and often unsigned,
thus circumventing government censorship. According
to John Vollmer, Director of Curatorial and Exhibition
Programs, "In this way Shunga was liminal. It was
disposable rather than precious. It didn't officially
exist."
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Shunga was
the "dirty little secret" – the black sheep of Ukiyo-e,
admired by European collectors including Degas and Manet.
Shunga in particular is cited as having influenced French
Post Impressionist painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. While
it maintained the rigorous aesthetic standards of Ukiyo-e,
it departed in subject matter from the cultural Official
Story.Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack observes that "By
re- contextualizing the more familiar icons of Japanese
printmaking within the larger body of more overt pornographic
work to which they belong, this exhibition reveals the
erotic iconography of Edo period prints and offer a
rare glimpse at long sequestered prints."
Shunga treated sexuality with candor and humor. While
its European counterparts were content to capture courtship
and the cigarette after, lovers were rendered in flagrante
delicto. For the Japanese viewers, the prints had both
a pragmatic and a sensual dimension: Brothel guides
were designed for the well-born, but they chiefly served
as a masturbatory aide for the yeoman with an empty
purse. The art on offer wasn't the best –but it got
the job done. There were even games of amusement made
out of woodblock prints (imagine a courtesan's vagina
as the landscape for arcade Skeeball).
Today's Japanese Manga – graphic novels, cartoons and
comic books - and anime bear a direct lineage to Shunga.
Voyeurism, masturbation, and some of their more scandalous
themes - rape, over-exaggerated sex organs, sex with
aliens, are first evinced in the work of Shunga artisans.
Contemporary Yaoi – "boy's love" – frankly depicting
homosexuality and the glorification of the beautiful
boy -- also had its precedent in Shunga. For that matter,
so did the money shot.
The Museum of Sex is proud to offer this rare glimpse
of over one hundred objects from its permanent collection,
including scrolls, woodblock prints, seminal examples
of Manga such as The Rose of Versailles, and cutting
edge anime.
The Academy Award winning Memoirs of a Geisha is doing
a brisk business at cinemas. Additionally, the tome
upon which it is based continues to sell well at bookstores.
Those who wish to delve further will find the show evocative,
if not downright scandalous.
About the Museum of Sex
The mission of the Museum of Sex is to preserve and
present the history, evolution, and cultural significance
of human sexuality. It is committed to open discourse
and exchange and to offering the public outstanding
scholarship in its exhibitions, programs, and publications.
Since opening its doors in 2002, the Museum has produced
eight original exhibitions and two online interactive
Web projects.
The Museum of Sex is located at 233 Fifth Avenue @ 27th
Street, New York, NY 10016. We are open 7 days a week:
Sunday-Friday 11am-6:30pm; Saturday 11am-8pm.
Admission is $14.50; $13.50 seniors/students. Please
visit http://www.museumofsex.com for more information,
and to retrieve a coupon for $5 admission discount.
Visitors under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
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REGISTRATIONS HAPPENING NOW FOR ART CLASSES AT PARAGON
Hurry.
 Registration
for Spring 2006 Sessions
Painting Workshop with Barbara Johnson
Ten
Week Workshop designed for previous workshop artists to explore individual
projects, or new artists to be guided through a structured study of
representational painting techniques including drawing principles for rendering
form and atmosphere, color mixing in oil, evaluating color temperature, glazing
techniques, and studying the intricacies of reflected light. The mediums of
drawing (pencil & charcoal), oil painting and dry pastel will be the only
materials used in this workshop. The drawing and oil painting materials list for
the workshop will be provided upon registration. Early registration is suggested
as class size is limited. The session fee of $450 is due by March 27.
FOR A REGISTRATION FORM CONTACT BARBARA JOHNSON AT
bjohnson2001@charter.net
Classes are held at the Paragon Arts and
Industries Building at 150 Pleasant St. in Easthampton Second Floor Room
232/234
 This is a
test. What do these items have in common?
HINT: the third
image is the famous nun bun which I saw when last in Nashville and which has
since been stolen! Click here for the USA
TODAY story on the theft of the nun bun.
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