In the vote of Radio Ton Janara won with an overwhelming majority in front of "Ante Vitoria". Thus the almost 10m high and widely visible symbolic figure of the world's first swimwear museum has a name. Janara comes from the language of the original inhabitants of Amazon and means "princess of sweet water". Surprisingly the international interest. Almost half of all votes cast came from South and North America, from the USA and from non-German-speaking Europe.
The summer's coming to an end. And thus also the time, in which one enjoys the warm sun airily and lightly dressed. But that wasn't always the case. For more than 100 years, women fought against social moral concepts and political bathing regulations in order to wear what they wanted to wear when bathing in public. In all countries there were prohibitions and punishments, one could even go to prison if one did not keep to the regulations. Swimming was at first even life-threatening with the prescribed fullness of clothes weighing many kilograms. The liberation of the female body from comfortable and safe swimwear was a battle for every inch of fabric. And there were a number of very strong women who fought for women's self-determination in society. "Woman Power" is one of the main topics in the BikiniARTmuseum (short: "BAM") and Janara is the corresponding symbolic figure.
Provocative & so feminist
BAM is the first place in the world where the historical and contemporary knowledge collected around the globe on the subjects of swimwear and bathing culture is collected and presented to the public.
The opening will take place at the beginning of 2020 at the motorway exit of the A6, Bad Rappenau, which is often referred to as the capital of swimwear. Janara will soon be enthroned on the roof of the museum - the installation is planned for the beginning of December - in an impressive size.
In the vote of Radio Ton won "Janara" with 76% of all votes clearly ahead of "Ante Vitoria". Above all, the many Brazilians who took part in the vote pushed through their names. The original, a bronze figure, shows a 1950s girl in a winning pose with a bikini and boxing gloves. The creator of the figure, created with great grace and feeling, is Doris Geraldi, a well-known sculpture artist from Rio de Janeiro.
The inferior name "Ante Vitoria" in the final is composed of the short form for Annette and the Portuguese word Vitoria, which means victory or triumph. Ante Vitoria alludes to the Australian show and competition swimmer Annette Kellermann. She wore a tight-fitting one-piece swimsuit made of woollen jersey fabric. In 1907 the scandal was perfect. In her swimsuit, Kellerman ventured to the beach of Boston and was arrested for "offensive revelations". Restrictions, bans and arrests were also common in Germany: from the bathing cart as an example of the restrictions on bathing in the 19th century, to the Zwickelerlass of 1932 and the separation of the sexes in the Passauer Bschütt-Bad in the late 1930s, as well as the Passauer Bikini prohibition of the years 1968 to 1971.
The passionate team around Reinhold Weinmann, director of the BikiniARTmuseum, has a lot in mind: "The BikiniARTmuseum is a tribute to the determined predecessors and pioneers of yesterday and today". Everyone who was able to enjoy the warm sun at the lake or in the park this summer again, airy, lightly dressed and carefree, owes this freedom to the courageous women of the past.
"Janara", the symbolic figure of the BikiniARTmuseum, shows a girl from the 1950s with boxing gloves in a winning position. It embodies the victorious struggle of women against nonsensical prudery and regulations and stands for the right of women to be able to decide for themselves what women wear when bathing in public. The almost 10 metre high symbolic figure, the largest bikini figure in the world, will be enthroned on the roof of the first swimwear museum. The creator is an elderly lady from Rio de Janeiro who created this figure with a lot of grace and feeling.
Copyright: Archive BikiniARTmuseum
The Australian swimmer Annette Kellermann, who dared to go to the beach in Boston in 1907 in her tight-fitting one-piece swimsuit made of woollen jersey fabric and was arrested for "offensive revelations". Copyright: ISHOF
Modern art drawing from 1892: A woman in historical bathing clothes on a bathing cart. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that bathing in public began. Accordingly, the bathing cart was mainly used by women to be able to go into the water protected from glances. The BikiniARTmuseum will have a bathing cart reconstructed according to historical original plans and exhibit it in the museum.
Copyright: Archive BikiniARTmuseum
MORE ARTICLES
Bikini from first Bond girl auctioned off
In close contact with influencers at the Bikiniart Museum in Bad Rappenau
