The Virgin Mary as you've never seen her before.
In honor of Christmas, here's a round up of products inspired by the Mother of all Mothers.... Mary. Some modern and yes, blasphemous, Virgin Mary inspired designs and products. This post is not meant to offend, but to inform.
Of course, the Virgin Mary has been around in art for centuries and yes, there are many serious products that feature the Virgin Mary (aka Madonna, Mother Mary or Maria) as everything from clocks to night lights. But those you can find at your nearby church or online religious supply stores like catholic shopper.
But for this post, I'm featuring contemporary versions of the saintly icon in everything from usb storage drives to urinals. Now, there are thousands of contemporary artists who've used the religious icon in their pieces and I can't show you all of them, so I've chosen a few of the more unusual ones to share with you.
Virgin Mary tech:
The Maria USB data storage stick reads "Oh Mary keep my data safe" on her halo and her heart 'beats" as it's working.
Designed by Luis Eslava, it supports the following system software: Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OSX and makes a great stocking stuffer! Buy it here
Thanks to a reader who chose to remain anonymous, I have this wonderful last minute addition to the list. A Virgin Mary vibrator for your own personal theophany. Made of silicone, she's available in several colors including a glow-in-the-dark-version (Is that in case you can't find yourself?):
buy this and see more hilarious religious erotica here.
Virgin Mary modern art:
French artist Soasig Chamalliard's "Apparitions" series took Virgin Mary statuettes and decorated them with pop culture and artistic decor:
See all of his Madonna statuettes here.
Scott Campbell's cut up money caused controversy by both defacing US currency as well as using religious icons:
See much more of his work here.
Jason Clay Lewis' DCon Mary made of decoupaged rat poison boxes:
Part of his "Drop Dead Gorgeous" show, you can see more here.
Virgin Mary Housewares
Salt or pepper grinder:
buy it here.
Holy Toast:
buy it here
Throw Pillow:
As part of their Church series, DFCasa has created this Virgin Mary Throw pillow:
buy it here.
Virgin Mary blanket:
buy it here.
Virgin Mary fashion:
If you never saw Jean Paul Gaultier's stunning 2007 Haute Couture collection inspired by the Virgin Mary, you've missed out on some of the most beautiful gowns and headpieces ever:
See the collection here.
Another designer inspired by the Virgencita is Chilean fashion designer Ricardo Oyarzún's controversial collection of very sexy Virgin Mary inspired couture:
Bearing some seriously sacrilegious cleavage, his fashion show in Chile earlier this year caused much controversy.
see the collection and read about the controversy here.
Virgin Mary Keds:
yes, there are tons of artists who sell their Virgin Mary t-shirts, hats, stickers and more on sites like Zazzle and Cafe Press. But these Keds really caught my eye:
buy them here
Virgin Mary/penis soap:
One of the many fun and unusual products By Donkey is this soap which appears as Mary on one side and the male member on the other:
see more fun Donkey products here.
Can't show a soap without showing a candle. Soy Virgin Mary candle:
buy it here.
Other unorthodox sightings include this Playboy Cover from December 2008:
And giving the vibrator a run for its money as the most blasphemous, are the Virgin Mary urinals in China, which basically encourage men to piss on religion:
See more of the unusual urinals from China's largest public bathroom here.
So, as you can clearly see, from haute couture to erotica, housewares to tech, the Virgin Mother continues to make appearances (pun intended).