The Business of Torture

You’re a popular dominatrix with ten years of experience in torture play. You’ve got an extensive collection of rubber cudgels and leather whips. You’re a very, very naughty girl. Well, not really. Compared to European freaks of the 16th and 17th centuries, you are a total amateur. Back then, a...

By S. Pajot

April 1, 2010

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You’re a popular dominatrix with ten years of experience in torture play. You’ve got an extensive collection of rubber cudgels and leather whips. You’re a very, very naughty girl.

Well, not really. Compared to European freaks of the 16th and 17th centuries, you are a total amateur. Back then, a torturer’s toolkit contained dangerous objects like the iron maiden, guillotine, and interrogation chair. These were toys meant to gut and kill, and the people who owned them were seriously evil professional sadists.

Gawk at a collection of these antique pain machines when “Instruments of Torture Through the Ages” debuts at the Freedom Tower (600 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami) this Friday. On loan from Italy’s Museo Toscana, the exhibit will run through August 29. The gallery is open noon till 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $15, $10 for seniors, and $7 for children and MDC students, faculty, or staff. Call 305-237-7700, or visit mdc.edu.
Tuesdays-Fridays, noon; Saturdays, Sundays, 11 a.m. Starts: April 2. Continues through Aug. 29, 2010

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