In my last column, I reflected on the nature of Jewrotica and likened it to the conversation about the nature of Jewish art. The comparison is fitting, as earlier this fall I had the opportunity to visit the largest erotic art collection in North America (and possibly the world) owned by… a seventy eight year old Jewish grandmother.
When Naomi Wilzig contacted me and invited me to Miami Beach to experience the World Erotic Art Museum (WEAM), I was intrigued. Naomi thought that her collection might be interesting for Jewrotica and indeed it was, but I wondered what the Jewish connection might be.
After a brief conversation, I learned that Naomi was raised in a Sabbath observant, kosher-keeping and mikvah-going home with five siblings. Raised in New Jersey, Naomi met her husband – an Auschwitz survivor – at eighteen and they eloped together, building for themselves a successful life in south Florida. Naomi became involved in the Jewish Federation, Hadassah and Chabad, but until her 70th birthday, perhaps the most out-of-the-box thing she had done had been eloping with her husband.
So how does a nice Jewish grandmother become the owner and curator of the largest erotic art museum in North America? About twenty years ago, Naomi’s adult son was in the process of furnishing his new apartment and asked his mother to pick out a piece of erotic art that would be a conversation starter. In our interview, Naomi told me that she “knew the word erotic meant sexual”, but that was about the extent of her knowledge. Naomi was curious to learn more about this field and purchased art piece after art piece for her son. None of the pieces suited him, but in the process Naomi became introduced to and captivated by the world of erotic art, and eventually opened up the World Erotic Art Museum eight years ago.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I pulled up in front of WEAM in Miami Beach, but I found the presence of mezuzahs at the elevator and by the museum entrance to be strangely calming. I tentatively walked in, was greeted by the art director who was expecting me and was amazed at the collection. Rooms fed into more rooms and more rooms, the artwork and collections categorized by culture and geography – some of which were modern and others of which dated back over 200 years. I received permission to photograph my favorite pieces, some of which you’ll see below.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
I’m Heshy Fried from Frum Satire and I am very, very frum. And I completely support Jewrotica – it’s doing a service to the frum community. We need some sort of kosher sexual education. Jewrotica even has a system that allows frum filters to filter out certain things to make it PG for us. It’s mamish Torah. It’s like The Little Midrash Says for sex.
At Jewrotica’s Evening of Bedside Readings, students declaimed monologues on sexual encounters that had a Jewish twist. At Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the speakers pushed their own boundaries by performing a range of explicit narratives that challenged how the audience thought of the relationship to Judaism and sex. During the speakers’ preparation, the arguments about which narratives would be appropriate forced students to take a stand and voice their opinion on their own beliefs about Judaism an… Read more
Learning about sex and what’s right and wrong when it comes to sex from a Biblical standpoint was an eye opening experience. I completely enjoyed it and think something like this could be a very cool thing to bring to even high school aged Jewish youth groups.
Jewrotica is awesome. It expands the mind and for people who were raised with narrow views on sexuality. Whether you are Jewish or not, or in different sects of Judaism like Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, no matter what your background or where you’re from, Jewrotica gets you to see Judaism and how it relates to sexuality in new ways. I really appreciate Ayo being here and helping us learn different ways to connect with our sexuality.
My opinion on Jewrotica is: It’s sexy. It’s awesome. It’s Judaism to the next level. It’s what we should all be getting into!
I had a great time deejaying at the Jewrotica event at Columbia University. The live readings were hilarious, informative, and in some cases, deeply moving. I know that I, along with many of my AEPi fraternity brothers, loved being able to connect our Judaism and our sexuality in a way that made all of us feel comfortable and welcome. I look forward to being a part of this again in the future!
Jewrotica is something that the community has needed for a long time so that people can actually learn, express and share and have good relationships without having to stumble through life. Check out the site and learn something. Have fun!
Jewrotica was everything I had dreamed of and more: sexy attendees, tantalizing confessions, and well-written literature to boot! More importantly, it empowers us Jews to reach inside and own our sexy selves and heritage!
Jewrotica rocks. It’s funny, it’s informative, it’s sexy, it’s interesting. Check it out!
I stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of this. I was glad to open up the topic of sexuality in my community. We are trying to build a safe space to talk about sex. The result I am most happy about coming from this event is that hopefully now my friends know they can come and talk to me, that I can be their ‘safe space’.
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