chastity belt
Entrance Denied: the Art of the Chastity Belt opened in July and continues through September 5 in Tacoma, Washington. Sponsored by the Tacoma Art Commission, Entrance Denied: the Art of the Chastity Belt is showing at Mineral Gallery as part of the Metal-Urge summer series featuring the work of over 100 artists in the metal medium at 23 galleries and museums.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly Entrance Denied: the Art of the Chastity Belt is paired with an exhibit titled Seven Deadly Sins, simultaneously showing at Mineral's next door neighbor Gallery 301.
The chastity belt exhibit explores the device not only in its literal form but in various imagined applications only an artist tasked with creative enterprise could envision.
Exploring the art of chastity belts is a somewhat surprising enterprise for a publicly funded arts commission. Considering the uproar that results over issues like whether a wall in the ground is a symbolic enough reminder of the horror of the Vietnam War or the bravery of its soldiers, it's hard to see how a publicly funded exhibit displaying sexual artifacts associated with fetishes and bondage slipped through unchallenged.
A real chastity belt which either prevents a woman from having sex (or a man from having sex with her, depending on perspective) is a holdover from the Middle Ages or perhaps the Renaissance. Though less publicized, there are male versions of the chastity belt as well. Dozens of manufacturers currently make chastity belts for actual wear, catering mainly to the sexual role-play market. But a quick perusal of websites containing personal stories of chastity belt wearers disclosed that some people do wear chastity belts due to sexual fidelity issues or to preserve virginity until marriage.
Top of the line stainless steel versions of the chastity belt retail for $300-600 and are custom made.
So what did the artists participating in Entrance Denied: the Art of the Chastity Belt come up with to memorialize and celebrate the chastity belt?
The humorist Lynn DiNino created a bell ringing contraption to hang on men, warning women of their approach.
One artistic duo created chastity belts for Barbie dolls.
No more spoilers. To discover the chastity belt as metaphor or to examine unique chastity belt motifs, stop by Mineral before September 5.
Metal-Urge also offers exhibits for metal enthusiasts not enamored with chastity belts. Among the jewelry, home décor, enamel, sculpture and other metal creations on exhibit, there's a battle of a gnome and gnome-be-gone at BKB and Company, an exploration of the significance of metal in biology and surgical practices at Fulcrum, and large scale metal sculptures at the Tacoma Public Library.
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