The Virgin Mary In Everything From Tech To Fashion.

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).

They Can Blog About The Oscars, I'm Blogging About Sexy Virgin Marys

Blasphemy Or Freedom of Expression?
Ricardo Oyarzún's Controversial Fashion Show Featuring Christ and Virgin Marys





Yes, The Oscars were wonderful. Well-produced, tasteful, Hugh Jackman? Surprisingly good. It was a great year for movies and there were lots of deserving winners. But you can read all about that everywhere else. Instead, I'm gonna show you what's been causing some controversy in Chile.

Fashion blogs and sites have been publishing reports about Chilean Fashion designer, Ricardo Oyarzún's latest controversial collection, but they've hardly touched on the actual show at all, simply focusing on one or two images of cleavage-baring models. The show actually had a crucified Christ, who descended from the cross with the help of a scantily clad Mary, models dressed as nuns and more. And I've got all the photos and info for you here.

Certainly not the first time religion has been referenced in fashion, and some of Ricardo's pieces remind me of Gaultier's religiously-inspired collection in Spring Summer of 2007.

Please be aware that the following text has been translated and therefore is not word for word and may contain some errors.



translated from La nacion.cl:

Chilean designer Ricardo Oyarzún, celebrated his 15 year career with the controversial parade of models in his "Virgin Fashion Show" at the disco Bunker.

Dressed as a priest, the notorious creator of fashion apparel began the controversial show that various Catholic groups, promoted by the organization "Move Chile" attempted to prevent, but failed.



Models Monica Aguirre, Carla Ochoa and Barabara Vos, and others such as Anita Alvarado (Known as the "Chilean Geisha") represented Oyarzún's Virgin Marys as they paraded down the runway clutching rosaries and helping 'Christ' descend from the cross.

"From now on, young artists will have the freedom to express themselves and do whatever they want with respect to content, and without fear of censorship. It set a precedent in Chile in relation to freedom of artistic expression. So I I feel very happy and satisfied for having done what I did, "said the designer after the show.

One of the events that most captured public attention (and the cameras) was when model and singer Barbara Vos interpreted the lyrical version of Ave Maria.

Referring to the criticism he received before Ricardo Oyarzún exhibited his work, the designer said that "there is something you can not argue about freedom of expression that exists in this country, I found it painful for the country rather than religion or whatever, to inhibit an artist like myself and many others that can launch a book. "

He added: "I feel afraid for artists such as myself, that tomorrow could be censored. Today was a parade, tomorrow it could be a movie, and before we realize, we end up in a dictatorship. Then you must be very careful. "



















above: the designer, Oyarzún, at the show's finale.

special thanks to Esteban Garay for some of the above photos.

Also translated from La nacion.cl:

The Santiago Court of Appeals yesterday rejected an order put forward by the NGO "Move Chile", which sought to cancel the controversial parade "Virgin Fashion Show, organized by designer Ricardo Oyarzún.

The team of lawyers from the Catholic organization, despite not being able to prevent the event, looked forward to the higher court rule on the merits of the lawsuit.

The NGO described the portrayal of women wearing provocative costumes emulating the figure of the Virgin Mary as "blasphemous".

On learning of the resolution, Oyarzún was happy, because this has become a "precedent for any Chilean artist. Now you may never again be able to censor what they say and think artistically."

But he regretted that a section of the population has been a bit archaic and medieval concerning religiosity, "he said.

Monseñor Contreras indicated that he did not intend to "censor" the parade of models, but to assert their right of expression.

A "questionable artistic expression" the auxiliary bishop of Santiago, secretary general of the Episcopal Conference, Bishop Cristián Contreras Villarroel, called the controversial "Virgin Fashion Show," noting that it was a "lack of respect for the reverence that millions of Chileans profess for the Virgin Mary. "

Monseñor Contreras also emphasized that his goal is not to censor, but to express our rejection of this act as offensive to Catholics, who make up the majority of Chileans (...) we condemn the use of the Virgin Mary, that is a provocation to which we are accustomed. "

This is not the first time that a provocative Virgin Mary has caused a stir in Chile. The cover shot on a recent issue of Playboy, shown below, was clearly referencing the the religious icon and caused a similar uproar.





You can see videos of the show here at the designer's site.