"Santa with Buttplug"

• "Santa with Butt Plug" (2002-2007) is a huge inflatable sculpture made by Paul McCarthy that is displayed in various places around the world, including, Germany and Belgium. The sculpture displays an all red Santa Claus holding a large pink sex toy and a bell. It is made of a weather resistant nylon fabric that is durable and does not rip easily. "Santa with Butt Plug" was transformed into a candy when McCarthy bought a factory and decided to make his work edible. "Chocolate Santa with Butt Plug" debuted in 2007 and were sold in $100 gift sets at a rate of 1000 per day out of New York. Thus, his work was able to get spread to those who had not yet seen the blow up sculpture.


• McCarthy has always been partial to think outside the box and create images and displays that raise eyebrows, some in a good way, some in a bad way. However, when McCarthy came up with this behemoth of a sculpture, it is clear that he likes to assimilate his works to caricatures or simple figures like Santa Claus. McCarthy said that in addition to Santa, he enjoys characters such as Miss Piggy and Olive Oil and he describes them as "cultural fabrications". He takes a figure such as Santa Claus and applies modern day beliefs and what he came up with was Santa holding a sex toy. Whether you agree or not with his reasoning behind this work, it is clear he believes that Santa is such an iconic figure, but at the same time, these new elements are being introduced and gaining mass popularity that is spreading. He decided to combine the two, and what he got was a child's hero mixed with adults perversion.


• This work really does not immediately reminds me of anything I have seen before. It is so unique to me, and that the idea that someone mixes two such diverse things, just puzzles me. But if I had to pick anything, it would be "Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano. At first glance the objects may not relate at all, but upon deeper analysis, I found that my feelings toward the two were very similar. They both take an iconic being, and do something totally outrageous and controversial. In one, Santa is holding a butt plug, and in the other, Jesus is submerged in a glass of urine. Both works are very controversial but at the same time, their affects on us are riveting. They offend some of us, but at the same time, they baffle us because we are so intrigued and shocked that we actually gain a respect for what they have done.


• I chose this work of art because it immediately caught my attention, it is something you don't exactly see on a regular basis. Regardless, it hit me like a ton of bricks because I am all for being unique and expressing yourself and your beliefs through whatever needs you deem necessary. Although I may have found this structure to be a bit controversial, I love it because McCarthy is able to create something uniquely beautiful to describe his thoughts and feelings.