Secrets

By Rosemarie Chiarlone

Television writer and producer Ken Keeler once remarked that any joke could be made 20% funnier by the use of the word ‘underpants.’ As the popular internet meme so eloquently puts it, underpants are tiny secret pants that we wear under our normal pants. In the Jaffe Center for Book Arts, we have many books made from non-traditional materials. Books made from glass, books made from ceramics, books made from wire and wood, but few capture one’s attention as the book made from women’s panties.

We first judge this book by its cover. It comes wrapped in a cloth diaper, fastened by diaper pins with the title Secrets painted in acrylic. In most museums or galleries, the first rule of thumb is to never touch the artwork. However at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts, we encourage visitors (with clean hands) to do so. Books were made to be held. Miami Beach artist Rosemarie Chiarlone specifically created this book to be a tactile experience.

As we unfasten the diaper pins and open the diaper, we encounter the pages of the book: women’s panties with text by poet Susan Weiner, a few words per pair. The poem is a commentary on the material on which it is painted. What is its purpose? What does it tell us about gender, about intimacy? It’s difficult to talk about underpants in a serious way. Is this book supposed to be funny? A flirtation? Or is it supposed to be serious? Or is that conversation the whole point?As we unfasten the diaper pins and open the diaper, we encounter the pages of the book: women’s panties with text by poet Susan Weiner, a few words per pair. The poem is a commentary on the material on which it is painted. What is its purpose? What does it tell us about gender, about intimacy? It’s difficult to talk about underpants in a serious way. Is this book supposed to be funny? A flirtation? Or is it supposed to be serious? Or is that conversation the whole point? Click here for slideshow.

- Daniel Scheide