Comments on: Sex in church: Antwerp gallery shows controversial art in former chapel

By: Peter N.

Peter N. — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 20:55:54 +0000

Whoops, that was an expensive repair job – but glad you did, it’s a pleasure reading how your trip with your family is developing.

By: V-Grrrl

V-Grrrl — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 20:37:19 +0000

Peter,

you didn’t think I’d leave you behind in Antwerp did you? I had to pay $350 to get my laptop fixed so I could catch a wireless connection and I never thought about not doing it…

By: Peter N.

Peter N. — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:20:32 +0000

Hey V-grrrl, thanks for dropping by all the way from Virginia! This Antwerp gallery is located in what used to the former chapel of a 500 yo medieval hospital – my caption was slightly misleading.

I’m going to check your blog right now to say how your trans-atlantic adventure is developing.

By: V-Grrrl

V-Grrrl — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:46:31 +0000

I hate to see old churches become commercial enterprises of any kind–even restaurants or artsy gift shops.

An interesting bit: there are religious rituals associated with selling a church building. If I’m not mistaken, in the Episcopal church, a bishop or priest must “deconsecrate” the building site. It’s an interesting concept. I always have a vision of a Ghostbuster’s type moment with a priest “sucking” all the holiness out of a building…

By: Peter N.

Peter N. — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:00:27 +0000

You know Di, it’s also one of my favourite galleries: due to it’s historic roots (the old chapel, the quaint medieval basement) and obviously its ever intriguing rotating collections.
Guess nobody in Antwerp has problems with erotic art: a few yards/m along the street (towards the South) there’s a sweetshop that sells erotic candy, like huge breasts in tasty chocolate. (Male body parts also available).

I partly posted this item to check the audience. Bingo: “x ISP, Teheran”, “x law firm, US”: mostly bored employees at work or curious visitors from countries where “sex in church” would cause outrage.

Wish I got a comment from a devoted nun, but then, they never comment, do they

By: Di

Di — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:41:21 +0000

No opinion on this … but love the Black Panther art gallery.

We had the ‘virgin in the condom’ controversy in New Zealand back in the late 90s.
The ‘artwork’ … a small statue of the madonna with a condom pulled over her.
You can imagine, the religious folk went insane, it took up hours of tv and radio …