1 May 06 in Found
There’s enough going on in these galleries from Japanese photographer Ken-ichi Murata to keep you occupied—and perhaps titillated—for a good half hour. Much of Murata’s work involves bondage scenes set against a decaying, almost apocalyptic backdrop. In a nod to the old European memento mori tradition, the artist often places spooky looking skulls in his compositions.
See also: Ningyo, Mario A.
[Ken-ichi Murata via Sexblo.gs]
More: Photography,
Art,
Bondage,
Surrealism,
Asian,
Japanese
21 February 06 in Commentary
Seattle dominatrix Mistress Matisse wrote an interesting column for The Stranger about otaku white guys in the BDSM scene who run around in flimsy kimonos like they’re the second coming of Tokugawa Ieyasu:
Now, The Last Samurai was an entertaining movie, but in real life I tend to be skeptical about white people claiming to be privy to the intimate traditions of a nonwhite cultures, especially when the only tangible evidence of that looks very much like a polyester bathrobe I saw on sale at Pier 1. It’s not wrong to want to feel like you’re part of something larger than yourself, but I think the kimono guys have misunderstood how they’re being perceived by others. White people have a long tradition of co-opting other culture’s dress and manners to the point of absurdity, and when I meet a neo-nawashi type, he usually reminds me more of Vanilla Ice than Ken Watanabe.
What was that? The sound of a nail getting struck on the head? I think so.
Ironically, in the same post where she mentions the kimono column Matisse links to another Stranger feature entitled “Seattle’s Sexiest 2006.” Go have a look right now.
Done? Good. Upon loading the page the first thing I grumbled to myself was “Seattle’s whitest people, maybe.” I know Seattle is fairly melatonin-challenged, but damn, can’t they do better than that?
[Via Mistress Matisse]
More: Bondage,
Asian,
Stereotypes,
Racial Bias,
Mistress Matisse
