New show turns Museum of Sex into an erotic campground

(Warning: slide show contains some NSFW images.) Can theMuseum of Sexever top last summer’sboob bouncy castle? Well,“Splendor in the Grass,” which opens today, offers some stiff — sorry! — competition.

For itslatest “kinesthesia” experience, MoSEX has askedDutch design heroesStudio Droogto transformthe museum into an “erotic campground.” The exhibition space includes a campfire, trail map andfive tents, each exploring a different aspect of sexuality, like self-love (complete with 360-degree mirrors for “self-exploration”) andscent (a musk-filled space lined with bulbous leather).

“Think of it as a national park of sex,” says Mark Snyder, MoSEX’s director of exhibitions. “The idea is to get people outside of the normal shell that we put ourselves in, particularly [when we live] in an urban environment. People will be getting on hands and knees, crawling around, brushing up against strangers and loved ones, exploring their truer nature. Hopefully they learn something too.”

Also opening at the museum? “Hardcore: A Century and a Half of Obscene Imagery,”a very NSFW lookat the evolution of pornography, from the Marquis de Sade to “Deep Throat.” The exhibition includes 19th-centuryphoto essays,Victorian blue movies and vintage fan ficfeaturing gonzo pop-culture couplings (Mae West and Flash Gordon, anyone?). “Hardcore” offersmore than just titillating images, however, illuminating the ways porn hassurvived, reflected and adapted to changing cultural attitudes throughout the centuries.

“Splendor in the Grass” and “Hardcore” open today and run through Summer 2016 at the Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Avenue, at 27th Street).

Follow Raquel on Twitter @RaquelLaneri.