March 24, 2006

"Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston"

In honor of the birth of Sean Preston Spears-Federline, a statue has been commissioned depicting Britney naked on a bear skin rug.

Oh yeah, and giving birth too.

The statue is supposed to be a tribute of sorts to the pro-life movement and to birth in general.
A nude Britney Spears on a bearskin rug while giving birth to her firstborn marks a ‘first’ for Pro-Life. Pop-star Britney Spears is the “ideal” model for Pro-Life and the subject of a dedication at Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg gallery district, in what is proclaimed the first Pro-Life monument to birth, in April.

Dedication of the life-sized statue celebrates the recent birth of Spears’ baby boy, Sean, and applauds her decision of placing family before career. “A superstar at Britney’s young age having a child is rare in today’s celebrity culture. This dedication honors Britney for the rarity of her choice and bravery of her decision,” said gallery co-director, Lincoln Capla. The dedication includes materials provided by Manhattan Right To Life Committee.

“Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston,” believed Pro-Life’s first monument to the ‘act of giving birth,’ is purportedly an idealized depiction of Britney in delivery. Natural aspects of Spears’ pregnancy, like lactiferous breasts and protruding naval, compliment a posterior view that depicts widened hips for birthing and reveals the crowning of baby Sean’s head.

The monument also acknowledges the pop-diva’s pin-up past by showing Spears seductively posed on all fours atop a bearskin rug with back arched, pelvis thrust upward, as she clutches the bear’s ears with ‘water-retentive’ hands.

...Capla Kesting denies the statue was developed from a rumored bootleg Britney Spears birth video. The artist admits to using references that include the wax figure of a pole-dancing Britney at Las Vegas’ Madame Tussauds and ‘Britney wigs’ characterizing various hairstyles of the pop-princess from a Los Angeles hairstylist. And according to gallery co-director, David Kesting, the artist studied a bearskin rug from Canada “to convey the commemoration of the traditional bearskin rug baby picture.”

...“Monument to Pro-Life” is on view April 7th thru 23rd with a reception for the dedication April 7th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Capla Kesting Fine Art, 121 Roebling St., Brooklyn, NY. Gallery hours are 1:00 – 6:00 pm Thursday thru Sunday, or by appointment. The gallery can be reached at www.caplakesting.com or by phone at 646-932-5687.
After hearing about the statue, Pope Benedict reportedly remarked, "You know, I've been thinking about replacing the Pieta. Hmmmm..."

(via Metafilter)

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:57 PM

    I think it is supposed to be ironical.

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  2. Oh snap. Any time I read something about Britney Spears, my irony detector turns off. Must have happened again.

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  3. Anonymous12:50 PM

    The statue is so weird. I don't think anyone gives birth in that position.

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  4. Anonymous4:28 PM

    "Oh snap. Any time I read something about Britney Spears, my irony detector turns off. Must have happened again."

    Williamsburg, Brooklyn is not exactly the "pro-life" capital of the world.

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  5. Anonymous10:34 PM

    It might be irony. Daniel Edwards' previous work includes the "Ted Williams Death Mask" and a gorilla with a vase on its head.
    At least one person thinks it's a satire on the pro-life movement:
    http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/music/index.blog?entry_id=1443582

    Some other coverage of Edwards' work here:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/arts/design/05ted.html?ex=1283572800&en=8323cb2c68a61403&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
    http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2005-10-1031-003.shtml
    http://www.firststreetgallery.net/edwards.html
    http://wherearetheweapons.blogspot.com/2006/03/pro-life-monument.html

    I recommend the NYTimes link in particular.


    I guess my first thought upon reading about this was that it never occurred to me in the first place that Britney might consider an abortion.

    After considering the possibility of "irony," I suppose there's something unfortunate about the fact that Kevin Federline's line isn't going to die out. Perhaps American culture--as personified by Spears--has truly conquered natural selection, and we will now reap the consequences.

    Hilarious.

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  6. Anonymous10:47 AM

    http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/29/britney.sculpture.ap/index.html

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