Anybody seen this? A ceramic art exhibit featuring the wives of Joseph Smith, each involved in a different sex act with smith (warning: very adult).

Comments/thoughts?

http://www.markwatjen.com/the-wives-of-joseph-smith.html

Very interesting exhibit.

Reading the quotes along with the pictures really underscores the creepiness of Joseph Smith's polygamy. I bet seeing that exhibit in real life would have been very chilling.

Whoa!! That's powerful! Do you know if and where it is on display?

Super Bump!

At what part did 'Anon this time' and "Wives of Joseph Smith Exhibit (very adult)" not get you?

Holy hell!

Bumpzilla!

Crickey dick!

Thought provoking all right!

Why are the cups empty when the header text clearly states there is supposed to be wine in them, symbolizing (something or other, I've already forgotten)?

This is pure imagination/speculation. There's no evidence that JS and his wives ever participated in some of these rather unorthodox sexual practices. We know JS coerced girls and women into marriage, but we don't actually know what happened behind closed doors, not to that level of detail. I dunno, maybe my idea of the mid-nineteenth century is naive, but I pictured JS pretty much engaged in missionary position, in a bed, lights off. Maybe he was a freak, who knows?

I think the line drawings on the plates are basically such poor quality, it looks like a 10-year-old scribbled some drawings on his notebook and those got printed on the plates.

What is thought provoking and, IMO, the only part of this installation that's necessary, is the quotes from the women. The art itself leaves me cold.

dogzilla Wrote:
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"I think the line drawings on the plates are basically such poor quality, it looks like a 10-year-old scribbled some drawings on his notebook and those got printed on the plates.

What is thought provoking and, IMO, the only part of this installation that's necessary, is the quotes from the women. The art itself leaves me cold."



I can't speak for the artist, but I interpret that as part of the artist's intention. I'm not sure that the exhibit would have been so effective if the drawings were beautiful and stirred pleasant feelings.

I also have mixed feelings.

The quotes are interesting but give no indication that the sexual practice depicted necessarily occurred.

It is all speculation, which is all that can be done with respect to this issue--did he or didn't he? Given the doctrinal constraints and some of the wives' recorded sentiments it seems that he did engage sexually with these women (or at least some of them).

He certainly wasn't financially supporting a superabundance of "Prairie Home Companions", as it were...

In any case, this is almost so speculative as to be offensive to me.

The line drawings are effective, though. Had they been more realistic portrayals I think the chilling effect would have been compromised. As it is, it leaves us wondering all the more.

s4711 logged out Wrote:
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> In any case, this is almost so speculative as to
> be offensive to me.


But it's art - it's meant to evoke thought, ideas, meaning... not to (necessarily) portray an accurate representation of a thing, an event or people. I'm pretty sure that much of what happens in a Salvidor Dali painting didn't happen either. ;-)

Fair enough.

From the description:

"The installation “The Wives of Joseph Smith” investigates polygamous practices during the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The installation is comprised of thirty four satin alters with individual porcelain communion sets for each of Joseph Smiths wives. The precious cups contain wine symbolizing the promise of everlasting life. The tiny plates hold pornographic images transformed into line drawings portraying the requirement of sexual acts required of these women to gain salvation. Above these altars are written accounts by these women recounting their experiences."

This suggests that these acts were mandatory (required for salvation?) and pursuant to polygamy and not merely speculative--I'm not convinced that there is evidence for bondage/BDSM, lesbianism, fellatio, threesomes, or doggie style/anal sex (all sexual acts portrayed in the exhibit).

Thus while it is indeed art, the description shouldn't intimate that these acts were somehow mandatory and otherwise substantiated by the attendant quotes (the quotes make no mention of the specific content of the images).

Speculation is fine if identified as such.

s4711 logged out Wrote:
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> This suggests that these acts were mandatory
> (required for salvation?) and pursuant to polygamy
> and not merely speculative--I'm not convinced that
> there is evidence for bondage/BDSM, lesbianism,
> fellatio, threesomes, or doggie style/anal sex
> (all sexual acts portrayed in the exhibit).
>
> Thus while it is indeed art, the description
> shouldn't intimate that these acts were somehow
> mandatory and otherwise substantiated by the
> attendant quotes (the quotes make no mention of
> the specific content of the images).
>
> Speculation is fine if identified as such.


Well, I'm not interpreting the drawings so literally. I interpret the drawings symbolically... since it's art. ;-)

I couldn't figure some of them out. But the idea is interesting.

The artist also acknowledges that no one knows exactly how JS performed intimacy with his wives so the drawings are not clear, complete or don't look well done. The technique used looks like a PS filter effect. I understand why he wouldn't use some more clear art, as he wants the viewer to leave plenty of room for their imagination. The use of rather offensive images relates to the practice of plural marriage and polyandry, both practices completely offensive already no matter what he would do with their wives behind doors.

The most important part are in fact the quotes.

Very nice exhibit. Creative, original and provoking.

Wow, that's powerful. The art is quite secondary to the power of the quotes. However, I agree that the whole point of the drawings is to make the viewer uncomfortable and show unequivocally how twisted and sick Joseph Smith was. There was nothing sacred about it, just manipulation and mental abuse.

Listen to the tapes Warren Jeffs made with his Temple Harem and you realize just how extreme a man can get when he feels he has ultimate authority and ultimate sexual access.

Regarding Joseph Smith Jr, imagination is the only thing history leaves us now. But one thing we do know is that Smith's imagination was limited to nothing less than Godhood itself.

The man had an unlimited ego, and likely had an unlimited libido as well. If he had the full power to act on that libido - he may well have tried. It was probably the ladies who limited him, still he was never short of opportunities was he.

Considering all his lies and power lusts, just how much benefit of the doubt does he deserve?

Very powerful. Ultimately sad, the degradation of people. I'm not seeing a lot of love or tenderness. Some conventional scenes of lovemaking, but mostly I'm seeing, being shocked by, use and abuse and pain and hands over mouths, and raging carnality for its own sake. The last plate shows a clothed woman crying.

Not easy to look at. Scenes like unto rape.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2013 04:30PM by derrida.