Erotic art collections have existed for centuries, but were often hidden away and reserved only for a small group of elite men (typically women were barred from viewing these collections). In the last two decades a group of erotically oriented museums have popped up around the world, some more art focused, some more based on individual's collections, some based on goals of being attractions and for us, the Museum of Sex, our goal as been to be a socio-cultural-historical institutions rooted in a rich discourse surrounding sex and sexuality. In our almost 9 years we have seen the rise and fall of institutions aiming to also chat about the largest and certainly most interesting topics, sex. A new museum dedicated to the subject has recently opened in Russia called the Tochka G translated as the G Spot, features a mixture of art, cultural artifacts, ceramics and more. Currently, the museum's biggest draw is a painting by Vera Donskaya-Khilko titled Wrestling (2011) that depicts Putin and Obama penis fencing.
Founded and curated by Alexander Donskoi he thinks of his museum as a "project about freedom." According to the Guardian, Donskoi "spent three years in prison after announcing, while mayor of the northern city of Arkhangelsk, that he planned to run for president during Russia's last vote" and has been a " loud critic of the Putin regime and modern Russia's system of governance." The opening of the museum has already been controversial and Donskoi has been summoned to meet with the mayor. While the sex industry is highly present in Moscow the topic is barely discussed, hopefully the new museum will help motivate some conversation. Hoping to make it over to Moscow sooner than later to see the institution in person....next trip, a grand tour of all the sex museums across the world!
To learn more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jul/12/moscow-sex-museum-sparks-controversy