The Pictorial Arts: Ready to Serve

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Ready to Serve

Is this a blatant phallic double entendre, or am I just seeing things?

Zoe Mozert — Ready to Serve — 1950

8 comments:

John Matthew Stater said...: Well, I've never found tennis so arousing, so you may have something there. ;); July 28, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Erik Johnson Illustrator said...: Very difficult to say. Its just on the edge of subtly.; July 28, 2012 at 8:39 AM
Kid said...: Tsk. You're just seeing things, Thom. Now go and take a cold shower.; July 28, 2012 at 10:06 AM
M. D. Jackson said...: Oh, dear...; July 28, 2012 at 3:17 PM
Duckbutt said...: t may not hae been intentional.; July 28, 2012 at 3:50 PM
dfordoom said...: It certainly looks intentional!; July 28, 2012 at 9:50 PM
Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...: Blatant? No.

As to whether a double entendre were intentional, I don't know. I suspect that it were, but I don't know.

As well as themes that were simply not intended, there are themes that are conscious and themes that are not. In the absence of an admission, it can be difficult or impossible for a second party to tease-apart which are which. In fact, for people who lack self awareness, it can be hard to recognize their own unconscious use of themes.

I once had the idea of a picture that I thought would be very appealing, of a female warrior chatting with a mouse. In my mind, the mouse was a symbol of the gentle* and vulnerable. But, before I executed the drawing, I realized that a great many people would see the mouse as a symbolic penis. I just sort of threw-up my hands.

——————————
*Real mice are not necessarily gentle, but that's somewhat beside the point.; July 28, 2012 at 11:51 PM
Anonymous said...: it seems like a common pose for an imagined tennis player. reading way too much into it.; July 31, 2012 at 9:13 AM

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)