THE GREAT WALL OF VAGINA – Miami, Florida – Nov 28 2022
The Great Wall of Vagina is in Miami with a brand new title. The show opens on 28th November 2022 as part of Art Week and Art Basel Miami Beach.
Founded in 2005 by Naomi Wilzig, WEAM is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to fine erotic art. In a remarkably short time for a still private collection, WEAM has developed one of the world’s most renowned permanent museums for this genre. WEAM is a proud member of the “ The WILZIG“, the international place for art in the heart of Southbeach in Miami.
Today the WEAM Collection includes over 4000 works of international art, ranging from 300 BCE to the immediate present. In terms of its quality, diversity and incomparable profile of erotic art, the WEAM stands out clearly from other museum collections. Alongside its mission to familiarize the general public with erotic art, the WEAM’S other prime objective is the ongoing expansion of its Collection. We collect, preserve and present works of erotic art of the highest quality from diverse cultures. We embrace our responsibility to engage and educate our community, to contribute to cultural knowledge of erotic art in history.
Why the title has changed…
From lady garden to flower, yoni and vagina there’s an alphabet of colloquialisms used for ‘vulva’ and I just used the most common one. I do love a pun. In 2012 The Hay Hill Gallery in London hosted my solo show which included the debut of The Great Wall of Vagina. It was the sensation which launched my career.
The Triennale Museum show in Milan followed that year, with the museum show in Lisbon and this Miami show bookending an incredible decade and bringing the work to an international audience. Problem number one was that puns rarely work across multiple languages, an oversight that shows my inexperience at the time, as a little-known sociopolitical artist.
The original title from 2010 was at first loved by all but has since been criticised because there are no vaginas on show. Very true! Since the launch, and aided by conversation starters like this work, the common parlance has slowly changed to embrace the correct medical term for the external female genitalia – vulva. Public artworks that survive the test of time, naturally become a conversation between the artist and the audience. The Great Wall of Vagina Vulva! with the exclamation point maintains the humour and the strikethrough shows how the language has evolved. For more on this topic can see the dedicated page on The Great Wall of Vulva website – Vagina vs Vulva
OPENING NIGHT PARTY
WILZIG MUSEUM, 1205 Washington Ave Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305 532 9336