We’ve been a bit swamped here at Bookkake towers lately, and although we have some fun, homegrown stuff to share with you shortly, we just wanted to flag up a couple of additions to our Cartography of Human Sexuality thread, which you may remember from our previous post on Sotadic Zones and other possibilities.
LoveHoney, one of the largest UK retailers of adult toys and films, have just released their own Sex Map (above), mapping purchases from their store to different towns and cities across the country. So, we know that Upminster, a suburb of London at the end of the Piccadilly line, is the “sexiest” place in Britain (opinions on what defines sexiness may differ). Well, we know sex is suburban, but according to LoveHoney, the good people of Upminster spend 9.5 times the national average on their sex lives overall, including 17 times the national average on Adult DVDs and 14 times the national average on “Sex Toys for Couples” (we won’t argue with that definition, although many of the bestselling products would appear to be designed more with the single suburbanite in mind).
Last night, I was privileged to be in the audience for a lecture by James Holloway, a PhD student in a graduate of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, at Treadwell’s esoteric bookshop. Holloway talked about the intersections of archaeology and the HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, two subjects he is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about. It was a fascinating and highly enjoyable evening, and what follows are the rough notes I made of the evening. This is my paraphrasing of what he said, and all errors are mine (and - update - James has added his own disclaimer in the comments).
A good, if a little vague, article by Maureen Freely in Saturday’s Guardian brings together two recent news stories in an examination of our changing attitudes to children, art and sexual offences: the arrest of Roman Polanski for a 1977 assault on a minor (on which Steve Lopez writes convincingly, and approvingly, in the LA Times) and the removal of an artwork by Richard Prince from the Tate’s new Pop Life exhibition.
The artwork in question is a reproduction of a 1975 fashion photo of a nude, oiled and heavily made-up 10-year-old Brooke Shields - the same child who appeared naked on celluloid at 12 in Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby (available on Amazon), and at 15 in a TV jeans ad with the strapline: “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” (Christopher Turner has a good history of the piece in the same newspaper.)
There’s no question as to the artistic merit of the piece: Prince’s appropriation is a direct questioning of sensuality versus sexuality, of the morality of art and the placing of responsibility for interpretation (Its title, “Spiritual America”, refers to an Alfred Stieglitz photograph of a gelded horse, referencing the breakdown of discussion of sexuality in society). Does the offence, the implicit lust, reside with the artwork, or the viewer? The Metropolitan Police are clear on the issue, or at least, on their opinion of the issue.
There’s an excellent exhibition on at the moment at Raven Row, in London’s Spitalfields. It brings together selected works by Eduardo Paolozzi from the 50s through to the 70s.
Those who only know Paolozzi as a sculptor, and through his mosaics on the London Underground or his massive Newton for the British Library forecourt might not know of his strong political and graphic design interests. Alongside acid-coloured prints (some of the first British Pop Art) and the strange toys the artist scavenged from flea markets, the exhibition presents a selection of collaborations between Paolozzi and Ambit magazine in the late 60s and 70s (although the relationship continued into the 90s).
We’re indebted to Londonist for this utterly reprehensible collection of out-of-context Charles Dickens quotations. Oh, it’s Friday. Giggle away.
“‘What, old Nobs!’ ejaculated the son. And they shook hands heartily.” Pickwick Papers, Chapter 27
“The jackal then invigorated himself with a bum for his throttle.” A Tale of Two Cities, Chapter 5
“Tom had sat upon the bed, swinging one leg and sucking his walking-stick with sufficient unconcern.” Hard Times, Chapter 6
“Mr. Jasper broke silence by declaring that he placed his whole reliance, humanly speaking, on Mr. Sapsea’s penetration.” The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Chapter 15
“Mr Brass’s ejaculations died away in the distance (for he continued to pour them out, all the way down stairs).” The Old Curiosity Shop, Chapter 48
“When the throbbing I had seen before, came into it as I looked at her, she absolutely lifted up her hand, and struck it.” David Copperfield, Chapter 32
Courtesy of Cookie, here’s a warm and charming collection of… vintage porno title graphics, put together by the appropriately-names Spanish design agency Pornographics. Enjoy!
Meeting once a month, with Pat Califia’s Macho Sluts as the next book up for discussion, this sounds like too much fun. We shall have to get ourselves down there, and if you’re London-based, why don’t you?
Over at Xcite, trends seem to be less otherworldly but equally painful. “Without a doubt, in our mainstream range, spanking is by far the most popular subject,” Cushion says. “People are very into spanking—it’s the new black.”
“From the orders I can track,” Bridle says, “I know there’s plenty of interest from both sexes. I’m aware of the shibboleths of the industry—not least the fascinating fact that books marketed at men through the use of heavily sexualised images of women are more frequently bought by straight women for their straight content. But I think that the mark of great erotic literature over its more corporeal incarnations is that its appeal is to all-comers.”
Image sourced from the cover of Nexus’ Over the Knee by Fiona Locke at Amazon.co.uk.
Last night saw the fifth installment of Bad Idea Magazine’s Butcher’s Shop writers’ workshop, wherein the editors and invited guests have a stab at “live editing” 350-word submissions from the attendees, in the appropriately grisly environs of Bankside’s Old Operating Theatre.
The theme of the event - FUTURE HUMAN - was transhumanism, with submissions invited on the subject of “re-imagining the human body through literature and science, and exploring the utopian possibilities of technological enhancement.” The suitably S.F. guests included BoingBoing’s Cory Doctorow, Gwyneth Jones (author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award winning Bold As Love), Ian Watson (co-author of the screenplay for A.I., and a former Stanley Kubrick collaborator) and Matthew de Abaitua (author of the Clarke-nominated The Red Men).
Thanks to the new and wonderful Edible Geography blog for pointing us in the direction of Food + Sex magazine, which launches this month in the US, and worldwide via MagCloud:
Collage art food magazine, Food + Sex, is a combined effort of artists, writers, farmers and foodmakers exploring how desire shapes what we grow, make and eat. By weaving erotic, shocking and thoughtful layers of beauty, wildness and the human spirit, we peer into the fire of hope and fear to find the hidden, seek the cosmic and reflect on the elemental connectedness in life that opens us to new ways of being. Included in its pages are a visual patchwork of uncommon art, essays and excerpts by thinkers, makers and doers from the food underground and beyond.
Regular readers will be aware of Bookkake’s own culinary experimentation, from giant eggs to phallic loaves, so we’re intrigued by such explorations as “human-incubated yoghurt”, “from putrefaction to perfection” and “tripping balls on the magic penis”.
The latter appears to be a retread of the territory covered in this Vice article from a couple of years ago, telling the weird and wonderful tale of the Penis Mushroom developed by various shady mushrom growers from spores collected in Amazonia by Terence McKenna, the original psychedelic mycologist. If there’s a more Bookkake-ish drug, we’ve yet to hear about it.
