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Erotic Museum, The

6741 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, California

Phone: (323) 463-7684 --
TTY:


THE EROTIC MUSEUM, HOLLYWOOD CLOSED ITS DOORS


HOLLYWOOD, California
May 4, 2006

The Erotic Museum, Hollywood, which opened in January of 2004, announces closing of its doors May 7th, 2006, in part due to the dwindling tourism.

After having restored the 1926 building housing the Museum to its original beauty, the Museum’s team consistently assembled a dynamic program of entertaining and educational exhibits such as A Century of Sex, Sex Ed 102, The Hays Code, and many others in its more than two years of operation. The Museum’s permanent collection includes Pablo Picasso, photos of Marilyn Monroe,
contemporary artists, and many interactive exhibits.

Although the privately owned Museum had seen nearly twice the number of visitors per year of comparably sized public museums in Los Angeles, making ends meet was difficult without public money and with prejudices about erotica and sexuality still at play even in one of the country's most liberal locales.

“In our preliminary market research, we found many survey respondents open to such a unique, intellectual and stimulating experience as the Museum currently offers,” says museum’s CEO Boris Smorodinsky. “However, given a real opportunity to explore their sexuality in an open and educational forum, people tended to be much shyer than we anticipated. Very often we saw couples linger at the door unsure if they wanted to come in.”

The Erotic Museum’s goal was to make people think of erotica and sexuality in a different way, to deal honestly and openly with eroticism in hopes of realizing the positive potential of human sexuality. During its two-year run, the Museum hosted major name artists such as Andres Serrano Tom of Finland, Mel Roberts and others, packed exhibition openings, and offered a number of special events. Hugh Hefner was the first inductee to the Erotic Hall of Fame in a ceremony emceed by Bill Maher at the museum. And while special events often saw substantial crowds, daily attendance did not meet expectations.

"Sex is everywhere these days, on the Internet, on TV, in the movies," comments Museum owner Mark Volper. “One thing we found in time, was that there is a change in the way people are consuming sex as a product these days. That combined with the recent natural disasters, the war, a drop in tourism, it's been a tough time for a controversial entertainment institution."

"It's a troubled time in LA County for the museum business in general." noted curator Eric Singley. "With leadership questions at some of the major museums in town and flagging attendance at nearly all museums, we're all in a state of limbo. We understand the other museums dedicated to sexuality in the United States have not been meeting their expectations either."

Museum CEO Boris Smorodinsky comments, "The entire Boulevard is on the upturn. There are developments all around the area. We still feel the Museum is a golden opportunity for the right people to come in and make a go of it."

The Museum is still courting potential new owners, mostly in the erotica-related industry, from adult film producers and stars to educational institutions such as the Kinsey Institute. "It's a unique product." Volper explains. "We've done the hard work by building this amazing facility. It just needs the right expertise to take it to the last mile."

Boris Smorodinsky says, “We had hoped to educate, entertain, and inspire. For two years, our venue was a vehicle for many progressive artists to showcase their talent, and we regret that due to circumstances beyond our control we have to close our doors. We also would like to thank all Museum members, sponsors, the Human Body Project participants and all other supporters from the bottom of our hearts for their continued patronage and belief in our product.”

The Erotic Museum is offering its artwork and assets for sale. The Museum’s on-line store will continue to offer Erotic products at its web site www.theeroticmuseum.com.




6741 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood CA 90028
323 463 7684

TheEroticMuseum.com


Statement of Purpose

The mission of The Erotic Museum is to educate the public about human sexuality with art and history exhibitions regarding the broad range of mankind’s erotic endeavor through the ages. The collection features contemporary art, vintage erotica films, antique pleasure devices, historical artifacts and interactive exhibits.


Highlights & Collections:

Evening at the Erotic – Friday, August 6th  9:00pm - Midnight
:15 Minutes of Andy Warhol
Screening of Warhol’s adult films with books, images and sounds of the Factory in honor of his birthday.  MAC-PRO Make-up artists, wigs and Polaroid cameras on hand to help you create your own memento of the evening.  Music and other recordings from the A/V Department, cash bar and more for regular musuem admission. Free for Members.

Evening at the Erotic – Sunday, August 8th.  6:00pm – 9:00pm
13 Inches of John Holmes
Wish a posthumous 60th birthday to John Holmes, the legendary adult film star spun out of control.  Recently remastered rare Holmes films from the Museum’s collection will be featured in the Projection Room with veteran rebel pornographer Bill Margold as the special guest speaker.  First 100 guests will receive a complimentary DVD of the new documentary, “John Holmes:  The Man, the Myth, the Legend”.  Admission is $12.95, free for museum members.    

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS:
The Natural History Gallery: Showcasing selections from the Museum's permanent collection, the gallery contains multimedia exhibits on a variety of cultural, scientific and artistic content. Currently on display are: etchings from Suite 347 by Pablo Picasso, the Century of Sex exhibit featuring media images from the past 100 years, Marilyn Monroe’s famous red velvet nudes from the first issue of Playboy, Chinese Jade figurative sculpture from 4000 BC, and a primer on the history of the Kama Sutra with folk art from India and Nepal.

Sex and Technology: The exhibition touches on topics as diverse as pharmaceuticals, surgical technology, the evolution of photography and film, video games, digital imaging and the internet in this penetrating look into technology's role in the evolution of fantasy and reality. Among items on display are early films, phone sex recordings, early 3D slides, surgical implants, patent drawings, photography and surrogate objects of all kinds.

Sex and the Muse: Among pieces featured in the exhibition are the photographic work of David LaChapelle and Carlos Batts, industrial designs by Julian Murphy, pieces from the Tom of Finland Foundation and other work by local and international artists.

Hours:

Open Sunday through Thursday, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Friday & Saturday 11:00am – Midnight. 

Admission & Directions:

$12.95 adults, $9.95 students/senior/military.

 


Images.

http://www.theeroticmuseum.com


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