|
Snubbing Miss
Naomi
The
World Erotic Museum has received press from all over the world —
not that Art Basel would know that
By Charlotte Libov
 |
|
Miss Naomi and her son Sir Ivan celebrated the World
Erotic Art Museum’s second anniversary on Dec. 3. |
As
a transplant from Connecticut, a state that actually revels in
dullness (the state motto is “The Land of Steady Habits,” after
all), I’ve found myself shaking my head in wonder many times
since arriving in Miami Beach, but never with more delight than
last year when I found myself walking behind a statuesque woman
wearing a flesh-colored body suit, glittery star-shaped pasties,
a lampshade on her head and nothing more. OK, maybe that’s not
an unusual sight on Washington Avenue, but what particularly
delighted me was the realization that the lampshade-woman and I
were both going to the very same party — the World Erotic Art
Museum’s first anniversary celebration.
Since then, I’ve never overlooked any opportunity to party
there, so, on Dec. 3, I happily sashayed along the same route to
celebrate the museum’s second anniversary.
And, although there was no lampshade lady in sight, this year’s
party was in full swing when I arrived. There was a DJ, plenty
of food and drink (the event was co-sponsored by 944
Magazine), and the 12,000-square-foot space was packed with
locals, socialites, a few politicos, artists, journalists, a few
gawkers and partygoers who delightedly posed with the stunning
feather-boa-clad models hired for the occasion. The party guests
played court to Naomi Wilzig,
Miami Beach’s queen of classy erotica, who was resplendent in a
long black gown and bejeweled in diamonds. “They’re the real
ones — I went to the vault today,” she exclaimed, as she shook
hands and hugged her well-wishers. JC Harris, her equally
striking-looking bodyguard, stood nearby. As she eagerly rushed
about, greeting everyone, Wilzig’s pace was slowed because she
was followed every step of the way by a French television crew
from M6, the country’s most widely watched private television
channel.
A year ago, this engaging Jewish grandmother, who is known as
Miss Naomi, had just plunked her $10 million collection into her
South Beach funhouse. Accompanying Wilzig’s arrival had been
some newspaper articles attesting to the artistic value of her
collection, but, over the course of the past year, word has
spread, both nationally and internationally, in The
Washington Post, The Independent of
London,
Seattle Times, Stars and Stripes (Mideast
edition), Reuters and many other publications.
“The difference between last year and now is that now people are
realizing that they can come here,” Wilzig said. “We’re being
internationally established and written up all over the world.”
The French crew was drawn here after reading about Wilzig in the
French edition of the magazine Marie Clare, in an article
that detailed how, as the daughter of a man known as the
“Hackensack Meadowlands Czar,” she married Siggi B. Wilzig, an
Auschwitz survivor, who was also a founder of the Holocaust
Museum in Washington, D.C., and the president of a major New
Jersey bank, until his death in 2003. The article also went into
how “Miss Naomi” herself amassed an extensive portfolio as a
philanthropist and well-known supporter of cultural and Jewish
causes, all while raising three children and becoming a
grandmother. And the story told how, as the press delights in
reporting, she was quietly going about her business when her
son, Ivan (now known as “Sir Ivan,” also a can’t-miss figure at
her parties, in equal parts due to his platinum hair, cape and
the huge, glittery “peace” signs he wears), asked her several
years ago to pick up a few pieces of erotic art for his new
apartment.
Of course, Wilzig went above and beyond, setting a hard-to-beat
record for Jewish mothers everywhere, traveling the world to
amass a collection of approximately 4,000 paintings, sculptures
and tapestries tracing erotic art from the early Roman Empire to
the contemporary world, including Picasso, Salvador Dali and
Gustav Kimpt, and attracting admirers such as Francese Granell,
a former European Union official who teaches economics at the
University of Barcelona and who has toured erotic art museums in
Europe.
With all this acclaim, though, Wilzig was smarting on this night
at what she perceived as a snub by Art Basel Miami Beach.
Although the party was also to celebrate a new exhibit at the
museum by artist Laurence Gartel, titled Gartel:
Exotic/Erotic/Electronic, and was billed as a kickoff to Art
Basel, the art fair’s organizers had failed to list her museum
in any of their materials.
“Sam Keller [the fair’s director] refused to approve listing the
museum in the Art Basel listings because he hadn’t seen it,” she
said.
Asked about the matter during the art fair, Keller said he
wasn’t aware of Wilzig’s request. “I can tell you that Art Basel
has generously included all the art museums, private collections
and visits to art studios as we can,” he said. “We give a boost
to the city of
Miami Beach, and we try to select as many as we can. We just
have limitations, and we ask everyone to understand.”
Don’t fret, Miss Naomi; despite what others may think, your
museum’s reputation continues to grow. Remember, just as the
French crew heads out the door, the Travel Channel will be
arriving.
Gartel: Exotic/Erotic/Electronic, an exhibit of works that
incorporate images of pieces from Naomi Wilzig’s collection,
continues through Jan. 31 at the World Erotic Art Museum, 1205
Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-532-9336. Museum admission is
$15. |
