Poor Paris Hilton. Not in the financial sense obviously — the heiress is filthy rich simply by virtue of being born into the right family. Any job she has held has been a rather glamorous one — model, actress, author, purse designer. And she’s not poor so much in the social sense — each time her cell phone’s been hacked, her slew of celebrity friends have been revealed, and of course we always see her dancing on tables at nightclubs that wouldn’t let most of us get beyond the velvet ropes.

Wait — where was I going with this?

Oh yeah, poor Paris. She’s everyone’s favorite celebrity to pick on. People are ruthless about their opinions of her. The latest critic is Daniel Edwards, whose Paris Hilton Autopsy is currently on display at Capla Kesting Fine Art (121 Roebling Street, Brooklyn).

The sculpture of the socialite is reportedly meant to teach teens about the dangers of drinking and driving. Just a few days ago — May 4, to be exact — Hilton was sentenced to jail for drunk driving. Well, sort of. It was more that she had been speeding without her headlights on when she wasn’t even supposed to be driving at all because in September 2006 she’d been caught driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08. And, she never signed up for a mandatory alcohol-education program.

If Edwards’ art had imagined Paris Hilton as a crashtest dummy, it would’ve gotten the point across with layered meanings: don’t drink and drive and Paris is a dummy. If Edwards made the beautiful Paris Hilton gory from a car crash, that too would’ve driven the message home that even pretty girls aren’t safe from the dangers of alcohol.

Edwards’ Paris Hilton Autopsy is not the public service announcement it claims to be, though. He has created a sexually explicit sculpture of a naked Paris Hilton. You can take her innards out, and if you do, you will discover two fetuses. This is an attack on Hilton’s sexuality. Granted, Hilton has been caught in one too many sex-tape scandals, but that has nothing to do with drunk driving.

The Paris Hilton Autopsy “includes support material from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD),” and it is clear that the exhibit seeks to scare teens out of sex, as well as drinking. The press release for Paris Hilton Autopsy “observes the teen pregnancy crisis associated with alcohol impaired judgment,” but the truth of the matter is, Paris Hilton was not a teenager when she was charged with DUI nor when she was rumored to be pregnant, which was later reported as false anyway.

What is a fact, is that Daniel Edwards’ depictions of famous female celebrities have stirred up controversy in the past. Last year around this time, Hilton’s friend Britney Spears was the subject of Edwards’ work. Like Hilton, Spears was depicted nude, with child, and in a sexual position. The sculpture was called Monument to Pro-Life, and the artist said, “Britney provides inspiration for those struggling with the ‘right choice.’” Meanwhile, Edwards also made a bust of Hillary Clinton, in which he portrayed her in a low-cut dress, downplaying her political achivements by staring at her boobs. By sexualizing these blondes, Edwards in fact degrades women.

There is no humanity in this piece.  It merely capitalizes on making fun of someone.   Whatever message Edwards had toward promoting abstinence of alcohol and sex through the Paris Hilton Autopsy will be lost on immature teen boys who will gawk at the almost-still-beautiful naked body. Young women, on the other hand, will once again see that even in their death they are little more than an objectified body.