Giant Macrame Penis
From the Onion, a link forwarded by a dear friend:
National Endowment For The Arts And Crafts Criticised For Funding Giant Macrame Penis
KANSAS CITY, MO Republican lawmakers and conservative religious groups blasted the National Endowment For The Arts & Crafts Tuesday, claiming that the organization has allocated federal funds for “obscene crafts.”
Above: Kahle’s work hangs at the National Gallery Of Arts & Crafts.
The $15,000 grant in question was awarded last October to Detroit arts & craftsman Albert Kahle, 39, for a nine-foot macrame penis titled “Father (By Mother),” which is currently part of the Macramazement! exhibit at the prestigious National Gallery Of Arts and Crafts in Kansas City, MO.
…
The macrame-work phallus comprises three discrete elements: testicles, shaft, and head. The testicles are knotted in Double Alternating Lark’s Head style and decorated with black maple beads. The shaft of the penis, knotted of Tammy’s Hemp Cord in flesh tone, is embellished with subtle strands of Half-Knot sinnet cord in light blue and Amy’s Cord in pale lavender. The head, the most detailed portion of the work, is embellished with a spray of silver glitter.“[2003 NEAC grant recipient] Terrence Colwell’s macaroni ‘Crown Of Thorns’ was bad enough,” DeLay said. “But an enormous phallus made out of colorful, child-safe materials that anyone could buy at the craft store? It’s way over the line.”
This is not the first time an NEAC grant has sparked controversy. Last year, a vocal group of citizens appeared before Congress to protest government funding of C.F. Littman’s “Piss-Soaked God’s Eye,” and in 2002, the NEAC received more than 10,000 letters of complaint over the grant it awarded Rachel Delancey for her shellacked driftwood clitoris “Found It… In The Sea.”
There’s more, but that’s as far as I got before I started howling with laughter.
Shorter URL for sharing: https://www.erosblog.com/?p=818
LOL!
Having been unwillingly dragged to a few craft stores in my day, I’d actually consider these a step up :-)
I don’t see what the child-safety of the materials has got to do with it… would it have been better if the penis were made out of barbed wire?
I wonder how Mr. DeLay would take it if someone were to say:
Well Tom, old buddy… you know that wierd macrame thing with beads that is currently hanging in your quaint breakfast nook with an african violet in it? … that’s ACTUALLY a tote bag for sex toys. But your wife knew they made you feel inferior so she put it to use as something else.
Heh. I like that it’s the National *Endowment* for the Arts and Crafts that gave the money ;-)
ya’ll know the Onion is a fake news-source, right?
Uh, doesn’t everyone?
one would hope. sometimes people get confused though.
I was terribly terribly disappointed to realize this came from the Onion. Somehow I missed seeing that as I began to read, or it didn’t stick or something. I *so* wanted it to be true.
MKK
Well, I guess this just proves I can get worked up over anything, even hoaxes. Ah – public humiliation – I’m getting really used to it…