By Erika Icon
YNOT – Vancouver mom and teacher Ann Pimentel is up in arms over a museum’s collection of 19th Century art she thinks will corrupt children.
On a recent visit to the Vancouver Maritime Museum, Pimentel and her toddlers, aged two and three, encountered the exhibit “Tattoos & Scrimshaw: the Art of the Sailor.” As might be expected of anything involving sailors, some of the artwork — nine pieces of scrimshaw, to be exact — depicts lusty scenes including naked humans. Aghast, Pimentel has demanded the “whale-bone porn” be removed post-haste.
Scrimshaw is a centuries-old art form encompassing scrollwork, engravings and carvings on ivory. During months-long sea voyages, artistically inclined sailors created intricate work on the ivory close at hand: fish bones. Although most surviving 19th Century scrimshaw depicts scenes of adventure, ships, and daily life, it’s hardly surprising men deprived of female companionship for months on end might also carve lusty fantasies.
Pimentel is unmoved by artistic or historical arguments. The “inappropriate” art rests in a raised display case bearing a sign that reads “Hide Your Eyes! These pieces of scrimshaw are not intended for children.” That children are unable to see the scrimshaw without a boost is irrelevant.
After the museum failed to remove the exhibit following her lone complaint, Pimentel took her crusade directly to the masses via tourist websites and the local media.
“I am disturbed and troubled after a morning at the Vancouver Maritime Museum,” she wrote on TripAdvisor.com. “The Museum have a new exhibit called Scrimshaw which features numerous images of inappropriate nature (oral sex, sex, nudity, male anatomy etc.) on tusks.… As a mother and a teacher I was extremely disturbed and believe these pieces of ‘art’ should be removed.”
The VMM has collected scrimshaw for years. Curator Patricia Owens was quick to point out that even more graphic pieces reside in the basement and likely never will be shown to the public. Much of the work in the current exhibit was donated and seldom goes on display.
“The opportunity arose when staff decided to present a show about maritime tattoos,” VMM Curator Patricia Owen told the Canadian National Post. “It seemed natural to compare and contrast the two art forms. Tattoos and Scrimshaw: the Art of the Sailor … runs to mid-October.”
