Getting a buzz out of still life

Interested in displaying a painting of a sex toy on the wall of your living room? Meet the man who has made it possible.

By Nicholas Cornelius

“Traditionally rendered still life paintings need to get a little more dangerous,” says Pat Hobaugh. The 29-year-old artist from Wisconsin paints still life. Dildos to be exact. And vibrators, nipple clamps and butt plugs. Why? Because Hobaugh believes sex toys can also stimulate people outside of the bedroom.

Hobaugh’s still life paintings place objects of a sexual nature, such as vibrators and plastic vaginas, next to mundane everyday items like a bowl of cherries or a pot of coffee. He says the effect causes ambiguity because people don’t know what to think. The carnality of the sex toys in his works “brings life to the dead setting of still life.” He explains, “Metaphor is overdone in still life painting. I want to explore people’s anxiety about sex and the best way of doing this is to insert direct content into my works.”

Read the full story in Corker Issue 1: Autumn 2008

Image by Pat Hobaugh