I have been musing on the penis, art-wise, since the early Nineties. Initially it was an antidote to all the tits and bums we seem to be bombarded with daily. It could also have something to do with the fact that I don’t, personally, have one. In any case I found it to be a perfectly self-contained sculptural form, “pregnant” with a meaning. A totem.

 

Sarah Lucas

 

This five-part book in texts and image, offers a rare insight into the process of making behind Sarah Lucas’s sculptural work.

 

Part 1 – molding a nobby prize marrow – a ‘Stanway John’

Part 2 – molding an actual nob – a penis, hard-core with plenty of Vaseline, and resulting plaster-cast Penetralia

Part 3 – a nob-negative dug into the ground – and resulting concrete-cast Penetralius

Part 4 – hand-on forming the original clay Oboddaddy – human-sized nob

Part 5 – concrete of men’s fetish boots [no nob] – with pair of fried eggs

 

Sarah Lucas makes sculptures and objects from readily available materials such as household items of food, and with her photographic self-portraits, she has developed a distinctive visual and material language rich in art-historical references. Sarah Lucas exposes and undermines sexual stereotypes, her deep scepticism towards social norms and gender-specific role attributions, albeit with an enigmatic sense of humour

 

Its title originates from the word “knob”, which Sarah Lucas prefers to write as it is pronounced. “Knob” can mean a round door handle, but colloquially, of course, it is synonymous with penis, although not quite as crude as “fat”, “cock” or “pecker” and can also be used to refer to an idiot, while “knobs” are a term for female breasts, or to be more precise, nipples.