Aug. 12th, 2011
Went to the Pompeii exhibit at Times Square this afternoon. Unlike the Harry Potter exhibit, which is currently in the same space, the Pompeii exhibit is not filled with screaming teenyboppers. The exhibit is in three sections--the first is a lot of frescoes and statuary and a few everyday objects, like weights and measures and fish hooks. There was an amusing little alcove with a big THIS AREA CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT sign that had a fresco of a pygmy threesome on a papyrus boat in the Nile and some oil lamps with naughty carvings on type--one with a running phallus (the sign? "This was probably meant as a joke." Really???).
Then they take you through a rather hokey short film recreation of the eruption, accurate as far as my knowledge goes, with rumbling bass and flashing lights and fans. (You could hear this, looping over and over every five minutes, throughout the exhibit.) From there you go into the centerpiece of the exhibit: a room filled with reproductions of the plaster casts made of the victims. Some with startling detail of face and clothing. It was very moving to see these figures, especially since many were clearly covering their mouths with their clothes to try to keep from suffocating. Perhaps the most moving is of a dog that was left chained up and climbed up the mounting levels of ash until its chain prevented it from climbing higher. Many many dogs have died in the last 2000 years, but the contortions of this one are still heartwrenching.
Then you go into another space where they have a lot more everyday objects from Pompeii--carbonized food (including a loaf with the name of the baker and his status as a freedman printed in the bottom), kitchen goods, jewelry, etc.
This exhibit was not worth the $35 ($26 for the nominal ticket, then $9 in amorphous "fees"). The divisions between the spaces in the exhibit are in some places, I'm not kidding, a hanging sheet. The cheapness of the surroundings make the real stuff look fake, and a lot of it is reproduction anyway. If you're a classics buff, it might be worth it, but I didn't get a whole lot out of it. If I want to connect with Pompeii, I have to go there. A few artifacts in warehouse space don't really do it for me.
(I did correct someone, though, that I overheard speculating that Pompeii was named for the general Pompey. I just can't help myself sometimes.)
Then they take you through a rather hokey short film recreation of the eruption, accurate as far as my knowledge goes, with rumbling bass and flashing lights and fans. (You could hear this, looping over and over every five minutes, throughout the exhibit.) From there you go into the centerpiece of the exhibit: a room filled with reproductions of the plaster casts made of the victims. Some with startling detail of face and clothing. It was very moving to see these figures, especially since many were clearly covering their mouths with their clothes to try to keep from suffocating. Perhaps the most moving is of a dog that was left chained up and climbed up the mounting levels of ash until its chain prevented it from climbing higher. Many many dogs have died in the last 2000 years, but the contortions of this one are still heartwrenching.
Then you go into another space where they have a lot more everyday objects from Pompeii--carbonized food (including a loaf with the name of the baker and his status as a freedman printed in the bottom), kitchen goods, jewelry, etc.
This exhibit was not worth the $35 ($26 for the nominal ticket, then $9 in amorphous "fees"). The divisions between the spaces in the exhibit are in some places, I'm not kidding, a hanging sheet. The cheapness of the surroundings make the real stuff look fake, and a lot of it is reproduction anyway. If you're a classics buff, it might be worth it, but I didn't get a whole lot out of it. If I want to connect with Pompeii, I have to go there. A few artifacts in warehouse space don't really do it for me.
(I did correct someone, though, that I overheard speculating that Pompeii was named for the general Pompey. I just can't help myself sometimes.)