# Will somebody please tell "avant garde" artists that giant genitalia has been done before? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390 "2013-12-29T04:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/1 "2013-12-29T04:16:26Z")
I try to expose myself to art by visiting museums, modern and otherwise, and make some attempt to understand what’s going on. I recently saw an exhibit of art by Sarah Lucas who, I gather, is a fairly big artist today. A couple of her pieces were giant penises: (spoilered because the picture is mildly NSFW) [http://www.secession.at/art/images/2013\_lucas/lucas\_gelatin\_01.jpg](http://www.secession.at/art/images/2013_lucas/lucas_gelatin_01.jpg) I don’t get it. Not at all. It’s no longer shocking or pushing the envelope and I’ve seen too much art which attempts to be deep by exploiting genitalia. It comes across to me like juvenile farting jokes. The chickens in the picture, btw, are part of the exhibit. I found them at least whimsical and fun. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/2 "2013-12-29T04:20:16Z")
The chickens are there because they’re peckers. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/3 "2013-12-30T08:13:27Z")
Reminds me of some Japanese artist who created statues of women with breasts so large they couldn’t have possibly moved. Juvenile maybe, but people were so shocked several of his works were destroyed. Some people are always going to be outraged by this kind of thing no matter how cliche it is and that’s what artist like this are really hoping for. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/4 "2013-12-30T13:07:07Z")
Been done, ages ago. Only without the chickens: [http://www.ctrlaltdelete.org/?p=1163](http://www.ctrlaltdelete.org/?p=1163) As the linked site points out, this was a real art object, not something conceived of for the film. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/5 "2013-12-30T13:21:18Z")
Isn’t it actually a gigantic dildo? It appears to have a handle. Also, the black thing it is leaning on looks as if it is meant to be something, though I can’t quite make out what. If so, it is also presumably part of the same sculpture, and affects its meaning. And teh chickens, do they belong with the penis/dildo or are they an artwork in their own right? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/6 "2013-12-30T14:07:06Z")
If we decided that art had to only consist of things that have not been done before, then we’d be pretty much out of art. Everything’s been done before. That said, I clicked the link expecting to laugh or just go “meh” at the depicted art. As it was, I thought it was sorta cool. The chickens are a neat touch. The giant phallus is somewhat thought-provoking. I give it the Athena Seal of Approval in the “Giant Dick” category. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/7 "2013-12-30T14:46:29Z")
I much prefer stadiums that look like vaginas. > **[Qatar's accidental vagina stadium is most gratifying | Holly Baxter](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/18/qatar-accidental-vagina-stadium-al-wakrah-world-cup-stadium)** > > Holly Baxter: The resemblance of the Al-Wakrah World Cup stadium to the female genitalia can only be a good thing – sport and vaginas are not always such public bedfellows ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/8 "2013-12-30T16:02:03Z")
it’s a thing of beauty. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/9 "2013-12-30T16:20:50Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Isn’t it actually a gigantic dildo? That’s the twist. You think it is a giant cock, but it is actually a cock-shaped dildo. The work really challenges your assumptions and makes you think. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/10 "2013-12-30T16:23:02Z")
Well, many artists are only looking to prompt a reaction, so it looks like this one was successful. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/11 "2013-12-30T17:22:59Z")
“Is that a life cast?” “No, madam, it is a ree-duction.” ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/12 "2013-12-30T17:23:49Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > And teh chickens, do they belong with the penis/dildo or are they an artwork in their own right? When I was there the chickens weren’t roaming free in the gallery so I assume they are their own piece of art that occasionally are let loose. > [@Athena](#): > > The giant phallus is somewhat thought-provoking. I give it the Athena Seal of Approval in the “Giant Dick” category. Please don’t take this as snide because I really want to understand: what is thought-provoking about this? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/13 "2013-12-30T18:04:30Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Isn’t it actually a gigantic dildo? It appears to have a handle. I was torn between it being a dildo, or part of a ship. You know, like the ladies or mermaids that used to go on the front of a ship… ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/14 "2013-12-30T18:21:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Been done, ages ago. Only without the chickens: > > [ctrlaltdelete update 10 10 2019](http://www.ctrlaltdelete.org/?p=1163) > > As the linked site points out, this was a real art object, not something conceived of for the film. Big ones here: > **[Phallus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus)** > > This is an accepted version of this page > A phallus (pl.: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. > Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely, iconically—resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic (as in "phallic symbol"). Such symbols often represent f... and older ones: [https://www.google.ch/search?q=phallus+dolmen&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=YLfBUpPbPMWthQeF\_YHoBA&ved=0CAcQ\_AUoAQ&biw=1089&bih=468](https://www.google.ch/search?q=phallus+dolmen&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=YLfBUpPbPMWthQeF_YHoBA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1089&bih=468) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/15 "2013-12-30T18:29:16Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > The chickens are there because they’re peckers. Well done. > [@Deeg](#): > > **Will somebody please tell “avant garde” artists that giant genitalia has been done before?**. . . Yeah. It’s ancient [link ninja’d by **Gymnopithys**]. Although [modern ones](http://www.redwombatstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=640) can be cute. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/16 "2013-12-30T19:48:31Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Although [modern ones](http://www.redwombatstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=640) can be cute. From that site : > [@](#): > > I don’t make this stuff up. I just do tiny paintings of 'em. Eventually they spiralled out of control–it was so–so–malleable! You could do all kinds of things with them! They’re almost like–bear with me–My Little Ponies, which are so infinitely customizable. [http://www.redwombatstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2\_itemId=1142](http://www.redwombatstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1142) My Little Penis? I used to wonder what friendship could be… ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/17 "2013-12-30T20:20:57Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Please don’t take this as snide because I really want to understand: what is thought-provoking about this? Hmm, hard to put into words. I guess overall, I clicked the link and expected to take one glance and form an opinion and close the browser tab. Instead, I kept looking at it, going “WTH is it? What’s it made of? What’s that thing it’s resting on? Why are their chickens there? Is it a dildo or a dick? It’s kinda pleasing-looking, in an arty way. I like the angle it’s lying at. You don’t get right away that it’s a big dick, you have to look at it for a few seconds. What IS that thing it’s lying on?” Etc. etc. Thought-provoking, meaning, I didn’t just glance at it and move on. My eye keeps being drawn towards it, and not because it’s a giant penis. It’s art! ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/18 "2013-12-30T21:54:06Z")
Thanks Athena. I’ll agree that it is thought provoking in the “WTH is that?” sort of way, although I’d say that means that the gum on the bottom of my shoe is art as well. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/19 "2013-12-30T23:32:10Z")
While your telling them about the penises, also tell them it’s not edgy to do “art” involving bodily waste either (especially when combined with some sort of religious figure/symbol) ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390/20 "2013-12-30T23:38:00Z")
Genius. The rightful heir to Michaelangelo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-somebody-please-tell-avant-garde-artists-that-giant-genitalia-has-been-done-before/677390.md?page=2)