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Category / Inspiration Vault

Japanese Mermaids: Ancient Pearl Hunters of the Sea

These women are the last of their kind. In their floral wetsuits, they fill their lungs with air and dive for long periods of time deep into the Pacific ocean, with nothing more than a mask and flippers. They are known as Ama and make a living hunting for abalone, a sea snail that produces pearls.…

This 1950s French Lingerie Show will Make You Blush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDs5xYsk3Qk&has_verified=1 We fell into yet another rabbit hole today when we stumbled upon a scene from the 1954 film, Ah! Les Belles Bacchantes. It was marketed as the very first French burlesque film starring “the 100 most beautiful French women,” and one of the greatest French slapstick comedians of all time. Above all it oozed sex appeal,…

What Happened to the Other Muses of Andy Warhol?

“One person in the ’60s fascinated me more than anybody I had ever known,” wrote Andy Warhol in his 1977 autobiography, From A to B and Back Again, “And the fascination I experienced was probably very close to a certain kind of love.” He never gets more explicit, preferring instead to steep in that infamous brand of Warholian…

An Off-the-Curriculum Introduction to BDSM & Fetish Art History

A little slap and tickle – kinky or otherwise – has been good medicine for us down the ages. Public consumption of the practice of BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadochism and Masochism) really came into its own during a ‘golden age’ of fetish art in the mid 20th century. Fetish art has…

Working Girls of Place Blanche: Documenting the Parisian Sex Trade

Our story takes place in 1950s and 60s Paris at Place Blanche, in the shadows of Montmartre, in the heart of the red light district of Pigalle. France was ruled by a devout Catholic, General Charles de Gaulle, who had reinstated a 300-year-old law that punished landlords who allowed prostitutes to work on their premises by…

What was the Deal with Marcel Duchamp and Chess?

It’s a question we asked ourselves recently in a Messy Nessy editorial meeting after finding yet another photograph of the 20th century artist playing chess in some unusual, avant-garde manner. Discovering a person’s hobby can be so deliciously voyeuristic. It’s a window into the way they switch-off from the world, and one made all the…

A Pilgrimage to the Ancient Penis Monastery

Deep in the Himalayas you’ll find Bhutan, an ancient kingdom with an equally ancient Buddhist monastery that is bound to make you blush. It’s called Chimi Lhakhang, and it’s a temple dedicated to fertility and the “sacred phallus.” Emphasis on the phallus. A carved “welcome” sign invites Western visitors to explore the monastery and its surrounding village,…

Muse du Jour: France’s Legendary Surrealist Stripper

Let’s catapult straight into the centre of Paris’ exotic dancing universe, the Crazy Horse Saloon, temple of burlesque. This glamorous establishment has had the pleasure of seeing a stellar selection of glamorous women strut and strip their stuff over the decades since opening in 1951 on the Avenue George-V: Dita Von Teese, Pamela Anderson and…

Meet the Belle of Provence

Jamie Beck went looking for inspiration and wound up moving to Provence, where she spends her time studying artwork, buying handfuls of fresh flowers and taking self-portraits. She is the ultimate belle of southern France– a New York ex-pat with a touch of tradition, femininity, tenderness, and an Instagram gallery that could compete with museums. Her…

6 Startling Things I Didn’t Know about Bettie Page

Last night, I watched Bettie Page Reveals All, a 2012 documentary about her life history, with much of it narrated by Ms. Page herself and that wonderfully thick Southern accent of hers. Now here is the part where I admit that I ‘ve never really paid much attention to Bettie Page as a cultural icon before; always just putting her in that category…

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