ecdysiast

ecdysiast n. a striptease performerSuch a classy name for such an unclassy practice. I'd love to make a business card for myself with this listed as my profession just so people would go home and look up the word - then gasp in shock. When I first saw this word, I thought of Demi Moore and that movie she was famously topless in. I also thought of that chick from Saved By the Bell who starred in that movie Showgirls. Every now and then VH1 airs it with the addition of very obviously digital bandeau tops to cover the dancers breasts - which are prominently displayed, bare, in every scene. The digital tops are very entertaining as they don't always move with the dancers correctly...thus taking on a comical life of their own.  I also think of Scores - that famous smutty strip club in Manhattan that you can see while walking down the High Line in the city. It's such a clash of environs that it always makes me stop and giggle.I actually think that the art of strip tease has taken a bad rap in our modern society. It has quite a rich history, as mentioned on Wikipedia:The origins of striptease as a performance art are disputed and various dates and occasions have been given from ancient Babylonia to 20th century America. The term "striptease" was first recorded in 1932, though "stripping", in the sense of women removing clothing to sexually excite men, seems to go back at least 400 years.I suppose at some point, someone added the pole and G String, stripping away all of the enticement and attraction of the traditional art of stripping. As much as pole dancing takes quite a lot strength and agility, I don't consider it an art at all - maybe a good workout, but that's about it. In my new found learning of the word "ecdysiast", I think that in order to call it performance art it should maintain some type of dignity and grace - and doesn't have to show all of the skin to be entertaining. Take this performance by Gypsy Rose, which is perfect for this blog post I might add...[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m9kd_nD1mA]I believe pornography also has much to do with the modern day connection between smut and stripping. When women became more liberated sexually and seeing naked or near naked women became something that was common in the day to day, most of the mystique was lost. These days, you seemingly cannot avoid catching a glimpse of risqué appendage just waking down the street - even in my little suburban village. When you turn on the television, you are instantly accosted by sexual images. About the only channels where you don't run into it are the Disney and Sprout channels - which is only because they are for children. Even PBS splashes some boob here and there usually on Art 21 or National Geographic.We've also combined stripping - or staring at scantily clad females oddly...with eating...Hooters being the best example.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5M8hZWjsvg]The genesis of food, drink and naked ladies can most likely be tracked back to the Playboy Club. A few years back I read Gloria Steinem's "A Bunny's Tale." The infamous feminist went undercover and became a bunny at the famous club and wrote about all that the women had to go through to don the satin bodice and cotton tail of the Playboy Bunny. It was really fascinating. I didn't walk away from it thinking about men being like pigs. The women wanted to do it. They voluntarily wanted to dress up like busty bunnies and serve drinks to men. It carried an elite status for them. What stands out to me is how Hooters is the antithesis of that older attitude. The bunnies had to stand a certain way, the costumes were painful. It was a strange art form, but admirable in a strange way. At Hooters, you only need the right...ahem...proportions to don the orange shorts and ogled owl tank top. Let's hear it for women's liberation?We are simply no longer shocked by the visage of the nude female body and this is why, in my opinion, the erotic art of strip has become synonymous with lewd and classless in the opinion of many. Why buy the proverbial cow when the milk is free?But perhaps the world has had it's fill of Victoria's Secret Angels, Hooters girls and celebrity sex tapes as burlesque and "pin up" are making a comeback. Instead of swinging around a pole to Motley Crue in see through 6 inch heels and g strings, these women are bringing back performance and confidence to the art of the strip tease - like our lovely friend Gypsy Rose's apropos performance earlier in this post. Perhaps ecdysiast won't be regarded as such a dirty word after all and feminists will have more time to deal with that pesky 50 Shades of Grey business...     

Rubenesque

Rubenesque adj. (of a woman's figure) full and rounded I have been listening to a lot of Prince and Queen lately - mostly because my 16 month old son really gets into those particular artists. He loves Killer Queen and Raspberry Beret especially and bops around to Fat Bottomed Girls as well . I feel like I am schooling him in a new form of radical feminism when we listen to these songs. They embody a sense of admiration for the full figured female we seem to have lost in this day and age. Here's what I mean...In Raspberry Beret, Prince notes:

Built like she was She had the nerve to ask me If I planned to do her any harm.

Since Prince is a pretty small dude one would have to assume that the beret wearing girl could hold her own because she was larger - but it's not a bad thing in the song. It makes her memorable and attractive. In fact, she seems quite proud as he describes her as not wearing much else than the beret.  In Get Off, he also mentions explicitly:

Honey, them hips is gone That's alright, I clock 'em that way Remind me of something James used to say "I like 'em fat", "I like 'em proud" "Ya gotta have a mother for me" Now move your big ass 'round this way So I can work on that zipper, baby

I would bet there are other references to his preference for larger women in his music, but what I find really interesting is that even a few decades ago, there was a certain appreciation for the voluptuous, womanly body. Whether it be Sir Mix A Lot or Prince, models still had asses and boobs and I am pretty sure no one was trying to lose all of their muscle mass to be attractive. What happened between then and now to so drastically change our preferences when it comes to the female form?

I think about body image a lot. The smallest I have ever been was a size 4 and that was when I was in college. It was a lot of fun. I could walk into any clothing store and fit into anything I wanted. I had no breasts so the shirts buttoned perfectly. Low rise denim sat on bone, not muffin top. Being able to wear whatever I chose made me forget that I was absolutely starving all of the time. Now as I write this in the bootylicious leggings of a size 10/12 (gasp!) shopping is more akin to getting a pap smear than having fun. The fashion world has banned me from being able to look attractive easily. At 5'2 , I am petite, but with an ass and boobs, I am full figured. Anyway you slice it up, I am fat by the standards of the fashion and clothing industry and deemed unattractive by the anorexic minions of Madison Avenue.

Every time I see the standards for womanly attractiveness shrink, I pray that this time they have gone too far and that next year the new "it" size will go up instead of down. I fear that when I am hitting 40 the new goal will be to fit into 2T pants. How I long for the days of Rubens and Botticelli whose lovely ladies flaunted flesh. I think there is a definite connection between Modern Art and the cultism of waifishness that is prevalent amongst women. In the same ways that traditional, beautiful, skillful art is rejected these days, so is the traditional female body. Much of a woman's free time is spent plucking, waxing and toning so as not to be regarded as some barbaric, poorly groomed gorilla in public. It's as if we're supposed to stay 14 forever.

...and the music about Fat Bottomed Girls and Raspberry Berets has faded away as well. Prince has been replaced with Justin Beiber and One Direction singing about hair flipping insecure 12 year olds in between rapid successions of "ohs" and "ahs" instead of actual lyrics. Even Jennifer Hudson lost her booty and Anne Hathaway looks like she's dying. Good god, even the Twinkie is a thing of the past.  Alas, I lament the loss of substance in all of it's historical forms - art, music and womanly flesh...bye, bye Miss American Thigh...

osculate

osculate verb kissMy son just recently learned how to kiss on demand. He opens his mouth wide and suctions it to your cheek with a loud "mmm---ahhh" sound when you ask him for a kiss. It is my favorite thing in the world. When I was kid I used to dread family occasions or holidays when people were over and I was forced to kiss or hug people. I remember I would run and hide when I heard the doorbell ring just to avoid it. I come from an Italian family so the formality of kissing friends and family is important and one is considered rude if you do not do so. I suppose the main reason I clam up is due to being shy - an attribute I truly believe I was born with.The world can be very cruel to people who are shy. It is not a trait that the majority of people find endearing. Shyness is often misunderstood and in our extroverted culture, not something that gets you very far. I have been shy since as far back as I can remember. You probably wouldn't tag me for this trait these days as I most often disguise this aspect of my personality.  There are still clues to it but I fear that most people mistake it for weirdness, snobbery, or pretension - which is most unfair.It seems most people stereotype shy people as being sweet and mouselike, hiding in corners, timid and shaking. But that is not the case at all. Shy people have opinions and passions just as strong as extroverts. Just ask someone who is shy and I am sure you will get an ear full - once they get to know you. I don't know if all shy people are this way, but I just enjoy observing and not participating. I'd rather take in everything and make a story about it than participate. I don't enjoy making the first move. I like to go slow and ease myself in when I think it's safe and when I'm ready. There's nothing wrong with this in my opinion. And shyness doesn't mean that one has to be a wallflower either. Shy people are like little secret packages waiting to be opened.I have always channeled my shyness through writing. The first time I did this was my senior year in high school where I wrote an article in the county paper about not going to the prom...and about how happy I was not to go. I received many cheers and jeers from it, but for once I had a voice and I didn't have to speak to put it out there - and people listened. In college, I wrote for the newspaper for 4 years in the commentary section, no less. Unfortunately, upon graduating in a bad economy, I wasn't able to work as a journalist as I had planned and gave up my voice for a long time...until most recently with this blog. My writing has become an extroversion where my everyday life is lacking.My shyness makes me fear being the center of everyone's attention, yet long for it with all of my being. I believe there are many people like me. Instead of overcoming or ridding our lives of this attribute, we find a different language - writing, dancing, singing - that releases our voice in a different way than just playing a role at a party and keeping up conversation.Shyness is at the core of creativity, grace, humility...all of those traits that people find lacking in society and that most people strive for. Perhaps they are so rare because most people misunderstand them as negative attributes...the way the world mistakes shyness for so many other unsavory things. 

pastiche

pastiche n. an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist or periodI had always associated this word with a great little dessert restaurant in Providence on Federal Hill near Cafe Dolce Vita, which will always be one of my favorite places. I was surprised to learn what it actually meant. It seems very apropos as I have embarked on the "Artist's Way" journey and am finding it to be very useful in unblocking my creative spirit. It has also caused me to think a lot about art, specifically the state of art at the present.The old adage goes that "life imitates art," but sometimes when I am working on something creative I feel like art imitates art. For example, I am currently cutting a lino block for a new project and I can't help but think that my creation is starting to look like a Nikki McClure work. I love her work and have a bunch of children's books that I purchased for Graham that we read a lot. I think I am subconsciously channeling her style...and it's frustrating. In college, we used to have numerous exercises where one would have to write in the "voice" of a different, notable author. This helped to jump start creativity and develop style. One could say that this is what I am currently doing now with this particular piece. I think that all artists struggle with the overwhelming pressure to create a mark in this universe that is completely unique, unlike anything that has ever existed in the past and present. It is a tall order to fill and I think that most will probably never reach that goal. Perhaps being an artist is the endless pursuit towards just that.The other day I was speaking to my husband about being creative and making prints. He said, "Just make something beautiful." Sometimes when the brain gets full and I get too far ahead of myself, I need to remind myself of this simple advice. I don't think there can ever be anything wrong, or useless or unworthy by adding a little bit more beauty to the world. It shouldn't matter if it looks similar to something else that already exists or if it doesn't have a voice that tells some complicated, convoluted story. Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Botticelli and Goya made beautiful art that didn't always overtly express who they were or their view points. It was their style, their indelible mark on the world that expressed their personality. They embodied their artistic voice in their technique and style.In our present age it seems artists struggle to make work that screams about who they are, their tragedy, their woe. Many times it is vulgar, ugly and meant to evoke emotion or reaction in the viewer...having nothing to do with technique, practice or ability. Art has become a kind of therapy for individuals where creating a tangible example of ones catharsis is the end result and goal. This is not the type of art I aspire to create.I am "old school" about a good many things. Taking care of my son and cooking are two examples, especially meatballs. They can't be too bready or too dry and meaty. They should have pignioli nuts, raisins optional. They should be pre browned in a pan and then finish cooking in a nice pot of homemade gravy. The first one you eat should be sprinkled with parmesan cheese and a little gravy. They get better every time I make them. I don't want to reinvent the meatball. I just want to add something beautiful, simple and delicious to the world.Now I just need to find my recipe for creativity...