Words by Kristoff Peralta
“Porn may not be considered art but some art can definitely be considered porn,” claims the Hungarian-Italian pornstar Cicciolina in a safe for work promotional video of Pornhub’s newest campaign that reimagines some of the world’s most famous works of art in explicit, lewd scenes.
The pornsite company expressed that it wanted to boost the attraction to these museums that have been hard-hit by the pandemic, through a pornographic simulation of some classical art that features stark naked bodies to stimulate the public “to visit, explore, and fall back in love (or lust) with these cultural institutions.”
Dubbed as the Classic Nudes, the dedicated website and app is home to a collection of carnal reenactments of artworks by Titian, Botticelli, Cezanne, Boucher, Rembrandt, Degas, and more that are housed in the major museums around the world, with plans to expand the collection. In another section, a diverse collection of nude artworks from other parts of the world that features people of color, are also part of the Classic Nudes campaign.
But the institutions are not at all aroused by this raunchy campaign. The most popular pornography streaming site is stirring quite a mess among the galleries for its unlicensed use and pornographic exploitation of the artworks.
The Louvre Museum and Musée d’Orsay in Paris were taken aback to see the artworks being manipulated this way. “We are not a partner of this operation, and have in no way collaborated with this platform,” a Louvre representative told an Italian newspaper. The Louvre had initial plans to sue the pornsite company but decided against it. They had also contacted Pornhub to have the works removed ‘at once’.
Meanwhile, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence couldn’t remain silent and has sent a warning to Pornhub, with a lawsuit on copyright infringement against the pornsite company to follow. “This is one of the many cases of commercial use of our images without any permission. In these cases, we always do the same thing, there is a specific law and we want it to be respected,” an Uffizi spokesperson told the Italian press.
The MET in New York and the National Gallery in London, where paintings by Degas and Gossaert are housed respectively, have no plans to file a lawsuit against the pornsite company.
Kenneth Weine, Chief Communications Officer of the MET, has spoken to Hyperallergic, “The museum’s Open Access program provides public access to hundreds of thousands of images of works in our collection, and we generally do not seek to regulate the wide range of uses of these images.” A similar statement was also issued by the National Gallery, telling Hyperallergic that the museum “hasn’t collaborated with Pornhub on this campaign, and will not be taking any action that directly or indirectly raises awareness of this project.” No word from Museo del Prado in Madrid that is also selected for the campaign.
In a New York Times article, Pornhub has been accused of distributing and profitting from child pornography, rape, sex trafficking, and other nonconsensual content, and has since received backlash and lawsuits for it.
