Display Item #19760502
(On Loan From the Lethbridge Institute of Masculine Potency Studies)
Medium – meat, sliced pears, taro root, wire, food coloring, vinegar.
The Dick Show
Potemkin Artist Collective
Gallery Potemkin
July / August 2013
What is potency?
This sculpture is an exploration of the penis being used as a symbol of power.
Since the dawn of human history, being born with external genitals has typically created a reduction in the degree of barrier to succeed and gain power on planet earth. This meat sculpture is an examination of this.
Display Item #19760502 (On Loan From the Lethbridge Institute of Masculine Potency Studies) aims to instill personal reflection on the notions that social power, political power, sexual power, family power, religious / spiritual power, earning power all are easier to obtain through simple penis ownership.
The inability for a male to become erect and thus to rigorously penetrate another (whether consenting or non-consenting) is referred to historically as being impotent. There have been periods in time in history where being an impotent male has been illegal and punishable.
The word ‘impotent’ (lack of power / weak / something without much influence on the others) is a very interesting and intentional word in English.
By displaying mock male genitals in a jar for the purpose of examining his power and masculinity, set up as a scientific specimen, while the genitals are obviously now detached from either a castrated or dead male, is meant to guide the viewer through questioning:
–Who was this man? Was he a powerful man?
–Is this in fact a symbol of Power?
–Does he still have his power?
–What might this institute of masculinity and power have as research questions?
–Is the ownership of a penis make one powerful in itself?
–Are there other traits that lead to human potency?