Paris! I haven’t been to the Ville Lumière since my January 2019 visit with Bert and Wim. Also, this March 2022 getaway in Paris marks the first overnight excursion with Thanh since our 2012 visit of the capital of France. Ten years ago! 

Images in this post are explicit. You will see sexual acts involving penises.

When visiting the the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection museum, I did not expect to see an artwork as explicit and as (homo)sexual as ‘Oh! Charley, Charley, Charley…‘. Charles Ray (born in 1953) conceived this homosexual orgy of mannequins in 1992. Thirty years ago. 

As advocate of more male nudity and of more shameless homo-eroticism in mainstream art and mainstream art museums, I was on cloud number 5. Because ironically, in a still male-dominated world, where women are way less visible in the public domain, male nudity and sexuality is hidden in the more restricted realm of queer spaces.

Oh Charley indeed

The mannequins are depiction of a younger Charles Ray. The mannequins are enjoying an orgy, licking, blowing and preparing for the main event. 

Ray describes the piece as the opposite of the tender ‘The Kiss‘, by Constantin Brâncuși, from 1907-1908. 

“‘Oh! Charley, Charley, Charley…’ also found its inspiration in sexual attraction, but from a different trajectory. When looked at from a different trajectory. When looked at from the other side of the coin, Brâncuși’s cosmic sexuality flips to reveal that your lover is simply a projection of your self! Is there no ‘other’ out there?”, asks Ray, in an interview of 2014. 

Further reading

• Charles Ray’s website.
• M23 Projects.
• Charles Ray on Wikipedia.
• ‘Understanding Charles Ray through 8 Pivotal Artworks’, Alina Cohen, Artsy.net, 14.05.2018.

Queerness and art

• MSK Gent – Museum of Fine Arts Ghent introduces LGBTQ+ tour.
• British National LGBTQ+ Museum at London’s Granary Square, King’s Cross.
• REVIEW | David Hockney double exhibition at Bozar Brussels’ arts museum.
• ANTWERP | Geert De Weyer Gallery, a space for illustrators’ and comic strip authors’ art.
• City chronicle ‘De kleur van de stad maakt mijn ziel amoureus’ recounts Queer Antwerp history.
• ‘Masculinities: Liberation through Photography’ exhibition at FOMU, Antwerp’s photography museum.
• Antwerp’s LGBTQI bookshop Kartonnen Dozen looking for a new home.
• Antwerp’s LGBTQI+ bookshop Kartonnen Dozen wins Çavaria Media Award.
• BRUSSELS | Exploring gay intimacy and sexuality at ‘In The Mood For Love’ exhibition.
• Bums out in Saint Petersburg.
• Exposing nudity at the British Museum.

Paris 2022

• Thalys Brussels – Paris – Brussels – Antwerp in 2022.
• PARIS 2022 | Museum Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection.