Wellcome Collection's exhibition showcases erotic devices from around the world
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The cure for all society's problems is for people to have frequent orgasms.
At least that was the claim of Austrian psychoanalyst, Wilhelm Reich, in 1940 when he created a sex box dubbed the 'Orgone'.
Now a replica of the contraption, along with various other sexual devices, is being put on display in London at the Wellcome Collection's 'Institute of Sexology.'
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In 1940, Wilhelm Reich, created a box dubbed the 'Orgone'. Alternating layers of organic and non-organic materials inside the walls supposedly increase the energy leading to orgasms. Now a replica of the contraption, along with various other sexual devices, are being put on display in London at the Wellcome Collection's 'Institute of Sexology.' Pictured is an example of the Orgone
The Orgone was essentially a metal-lined box that claimed to harness a mysterious atmospheric force that would bring people to new heights of sexual pleasure.
Alternating layers of organic and non-organic materials inside the walls supposedly increase the energy leading to orgasms.
Reich's patients would site inside the device to treat illnesses, leading to newspapers stories about sex boxes that cured cancer.
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The curators of the exhibition now hope that visitors will try the box out for themselves, in an attempt to generate debate about sexual behaviour and identity.
Opening this month, the exhibition explores the study of sex and the work of 'sexperts' such as Sigmund Freud, Marie Stopes, Alfred Kinsey and Masters and Johnson.
Displayed alongside the Orgone are strange sex aids and leaflets giving advice – including on that explains how bicycle repair kit can be used to repair a contraceptive cap.
Opening this month, the exhibition explores the study of sex and the work of 'sexperts' such as Sigmund Freud, Marie Stopes, Alfred Kinsey and Masters and Johnson, as well as works of art (pictured) that explore sexual behaviour at the beginning of the 20th century
Pictured is Ye Olde Sex Chart created by Carolee Schneemann, in 1975, listing her sexual activities. The artist is best known for the provocative use of her nude body to explore personal expression
On the left is a a collection of sexual aids, date of which unknown, with instructions, in a wooden box. Pictured on the right is a vintage poster for the Institute for Sex Research requesting volunteers for studies into sexuality
It also explores the history of research into sexuality with, overall, more than 200 artworks, objects, photographs and archived material.
The material takes visitors on a journey, revealing the amusing and conservative views of sexologists from different decades.
One of these doctors, Jean-Martin Charcot, who turned the study of sexuality into a sordid-type of entertainment.
An engraving by André Brouillet reveals Charcot giving a lecture on hysteria in the hospital of La Salpetrière, Paris, in 1887 with his subject being an undressed woman.
The exhibition also follows key sexologists including Sigmund Freud, Marie Stopes, Alfred Kinsey, Wilhelm Reich, Magnus Hirschfeld and Margaret Mead.
The sexologists in the show are all, at heart, collectors, whether of books, testimonies, erotica, photographs or statistics.
The first section, 'The Library', highlights the systematic archiving and accumulation central to the craft, including objects from Henry Wellcome's vast collection of erotica.
DID THE 'ORGONE ENERGY ACCUMULATOR' TRIGGER A SEXUAL REVOLUTION?
The device promised to deliver what he called 'orgastic potency', despite being little more than a plain wooden cupboard lined with metal
James Bond tried one. So, too, did writers Jack (On The Road) Kerouac and J.D. (Catcher In The Rye) Salinger. The artist who created Shrek swore by his, and spent half an hour inside it at least once a day.
They were all devotees of the original love machine, invented in the Fifties by psycho-analyst and therapist Dr Wilhelm Reich as a pathway to a better, if not the best ever, sexual experience.
Alternating layers of organic and non-organic materials inside the walls supposedly increase the orgone concentration inside the enclosure.
The device promised to deliver what he called 'orgastic potency', despite being little more than a plain wooden cupboard lined with metal. No wheels, no whistles, no ticklers or teasers, no bells. It was just a box.
Yet, according to author Christopher Turner in a new biography of Reich, Sean Connery had one at the height of his James Bond fame.
But whether sitting in the box delivered what its designer promised is another matter. If Connery was shaken or stirred, he never said. William Steig, author of the original Shrek comic book, revealed his gave him 'an inner vibration, a little bit like an orgasmic feeling' — which is a long way from blowing your socks off.
American author Norman Mailer, who desperately searched for what he called the 'apocalyptic' sexual experience, admitted just before he died that he never achieved it with his version.
Pictured is a Japanese ivory statue of a man and woman having sex. The material takes visitors on a journey, revealing the amusing and surprisingly unconservative views of sexologists from different decades
On the right is a cylindrical lekythos from Greece, with black figures engsaging in sexual acts decorating the outside. On the left are Jugum penises, anti-masturbation devices that had jagged metal rings fitted to the base of the penis with a screw or clip catch
Opening with the Nazi burning of archives amassed by Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin, it explores how Hirschfeld's material on homosexuality was assembled against prevailing social codes.
This is the first exhibition in a £17.5 million ($27.7 million) expansion of Wellcome Collection in London and occupies a new gallery dedicated to year-long shows.
'The Institute of Sexology' will evolve during its run bringing in new commissions, live events, discussions and performances as part of a 'Sexology Season; of activity across the UK.
The sexologists in the show are all, at heart, collectors, whether of books, testimonies, erotica, photographs or statistics.
Another room, called 'The Lab' points to the bespoke laboratory William Masters and Virginia Johnson secretly established at Washington University to observe and record hundreds of individuals having sex.
Sculptures showing people having sex are among the items on display at the Wellcome Collection's exhibition. On the right is an ancient Roman oil laps showing an embracing couple 'The Institute of Sexology' runs from 20 November to 13 September 2015 in London
Their measurements of real-time physiology – heart rate, lubrication, blood pressure, brain activity, organ size – during stimulation and orgasm established the complexity orgasms, especially by women.
The room explores how their findings and campaigns for gendered equality in climactic response fed into the zeitgeist of the 1960s sexual revolution.
'The Institute of Sexology offers a complex, often contradictory story of the study of sex, and highlights the profound effect that the gathering and analysis of information can have in changing attitudes about the human condition,' said curator Kate Forde.
'It presents typed diagnoses alongside handmade campaign material, scientific charts next to handwritten testimonies.
'But all are caught up in attempts to free us from the tyranny of preconceived ideas about sex, and suggest that our understanding about our sexual identities is a story of constant evolution."
'The Institute of Sexology' runs from 20 November to 13 September 2015 at Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road in London.
'The Institute of Sexology offers a complex, often contradictory story of the study of sex, and highlights the profound effect that the gathering and analysis of information can have in changing attitudes about the human condition,' said curator Kate Forde. Pictured are two phallic sculptures which will be shown as part of the exhibition which opens on 20th of November
The 'Veedee' vibrator claimed to cure colds, digestive complaints and flatulence through 'curative vibration'. In the late 1800s, massage was considered effective for combating almost any physical complaint. The 'venivici' translates from Latin into 'I came, I conquered'
Pictured on the left is a man in stockings, pictured by an anonymous photographer, while on the right is a film poster for 'Maisie's Marriage'. The film was subject to an aggressive censorship campaign by the Home Office and British Board of Film Censors
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