Fresco Exhibit Pairs Naked Modern People with Naked Ancient People

Ancient Roman frescoes featuring nude ancient people doing the sex to each other (as well as gods and animals) have been updated for modern sensibilities at a new art exhibit in Italy. How have they been updated, you ask? With naked modern people, of course!

The exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum in Casoria (near Naples) features adaptations or interpretations of ancient frescoes recovered from Pompeii, a city notable for being smothered to death by hot volcano jizz. The frescoes in the exhibit have been kinda, sorta photoshopped with naked photographs of artists engaging in some carnal nastiness with the ancient past. In other words, naked ancient people/goats/gods juxtaposed with naked modern people = a real and fluid dialogue with the past.

Antonio Manfredi, the director of the CAM said the Culture Ministry attempted to “censor” the exhibit by going back on its promise to give the artists permission to photograph the ancient frescoes once it became clear what the project was really about. The censoring didn’t stick though, which is just as well because ancient Roman frescoes were usually pretty lewd to begin with. You have to believe that the Pompeians would’ve given the project a big thumbs up before returning to their courtyard to admire their Priapus.