Erotic Art 'Turns On' Miami Beach
By: Beau Higgins Oct. 10, 2005
THE WORLD EROTIC ART MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTING
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PERSONAL COLLECTION OF
NAOMI WILZIG SET TO BOW AS MAJOR NEW MIAMI BEACH ATTRACTION OPENING OCTOBER 16 AT 1205 WASHINGTON AVE!
Naomi Wilzig, by all accounts one of the art world's more remarkable women, has formalized plans to take her personal collection of erotic art to a public forum when she opens the doors, Sunday, October 16, to The World Erotic Art Museum, located at 1205 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach.
Valued at some $10 million, the collection, which will now attain serious consideration for its historic as well as its artistic value, will be housed on 12,000 square feet of the mezzanine floor where patrons will be greeted in a foyer dominated by the legendary Fountain of Diana, The Huntress. Proceeding through a carpeted series of fiber optic-lit cubicles, on display will be the extraordinary mix of paintings, sculptures, and tapestries visually illustrating the historic perspective of erotic art drawn from the early days of the Roman Empire to the contemporary world of such memorable art sculptures as the famous male prop made famous in Stanley Kubrick's controversial 1971 film, "A Clockwork Orange."
A grandmother whose three children heartily endorse her passion, Wilzig is the widow of the late Siggi Wilzig, the CEO and President of The Trust Company of New Jersey who gained international prominence as a founder of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and as the first Holocaust survivor to lecture cadets at West Point. It was their eldest son, Ivan, now founder of the Peaceman Charitable Foundation, who entreated his mother to "bring me some erotic conversation pieces" for his bachelor apartment.
Nearly fourteen years later, visits to antique shops and flea markets across the United State and throughout Europe have resulted in Wilzig being acknowledged as one of the nation's preeminent collectors of erotic art, amassing a collection of approximately 4,000 pieces considered to be the greatest collection of fine erotic art in the United States.
Declaring that collecting has long since passed being "my little pastime," Wilzig feels strongly about the importance of the art she has accumulated.
"These works serve no great value sitting at home," says Wilzig. "Centuries old oil paintings, water colors, rare sculptures and statues cast in bronze demand to be seen. These are works of art that illustrate the evolution of erotica, the cultures and the time frames in which they were created. It is a genre of art that is aesthetically important and should be seen as a pathway through history and its cultures."
As such, The World Erotic Art Museum will contain a research library of over 250 volumes on erotic art purchased by Wilzig. On site, patrons will travel through time and artistic treasures depicting the biblical era, Greek and Roman mythology, antiquities from Asia, China, Japan, India and Africa. Wilzig notes that three common themes reproduced throughout the centuries are Adam and Eve, Leda and the Swan (a Greek myth of adultery and seduction) and various representations of Satyrs and Nymphs.
Into the world of contemporary art, the museum will be home to countless works
Discovered through Wilzig's travels throughout Europe and the United States illustrating responses of the most pressing controversial political and sociological issues that, through recent decades, have colored the world we live in.
Writer as well as collector, Wilzig has authored five books on her personal erotic art journey including "Forbidden Art the World of Erotica," "Visions of Erotica," "Erotic Secrets," "Erotic Treasures," and "Erotic Wonders." An avid activist and philanthropist, Wilzig has also written "Lifeline to Eternity," an award-winning script on Jewish identity which was honored by the Women's Division of Orthodox Congregations of America, and "The Suffering Survivor," a poetic account of the Holocaust. She is also a frequent guest lecturer on how erotic art relates to human sexuality at several Pasco-Hernandez community colleges in New Port Richey and Brooksville.
The World Erotic Art Museum is located on the Mezzanine Level of 1205 Washington Avenue, the site that was formerly occupied by the Luke Campbell Recording Studio. Open seven days from 11 A.M. to Midnight, admission is $15 per person. Further information via (305) 532-9336 or www.weam.com.
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