Dyed-in-the-wool NJ-ersian though I might be, I do love me some Las Vegas. And when there, I do make it a point to stop into Harry Mohney’s Erotic Heritage Museum, one block off the strip. The sex-positive two-floor, 24,000 square foot spot is the place for permanent and featured exhibits championing the wonders of erotic imagination, as depicted through artistic expressions of sex and love. The museum’s ethos is that sexual pleasure and its depiction are natural aspects of the human experience and that such celebrations of individual human sexuality (i.e., pleasure) must be made available to all, regardless of gender, race, or belief. With so much of global erotic heritage undervalued, criticized, or even lost over time, the EHM is dedicated to the preservation of as much erotic heritage as is possible to display.
A new exhibit on display at the EHM, running until August of 2024, features the artwork of Luis Royo and his son Romulo. Luis Royo was born in 1954 in Olalla, Teruel, Spain, and started to exhibit his paintings in 1972. By 1980, he was publishing his comics in magazines like “1984,” “Rambla,” “El Víbora,” and “Heavy Metal.” Three years later, Royo shifted his focus to illustration—the area in which he would become most successful—publishing his fantasy-based artwork internationally, creating works for the US, Germany, and Great Britain, as well as book covers for such prestigious publishers as Tor Book, Berkley Books, Avon, Warner Books, and Batman Books. Magazines often used Luis Royo’s artwork to illustrate their covers, including U.S. magazines “Heavy Metal” and “National Lampoon” and European magazines “Cimoc, Cómic Art,” “Ere Comprime,” and “Total Metal.” During these years, he also began designing video cases, lending his talents to such iconic video game covers as “Game Over,” “Turbo Girl,” and “Navy Moves.” Luis’s son Romulo is an artist in his own right.
In their usual inimitable style, the museum has paired this exhibit with the music of Salt Lake City-based composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer Mitchel Johnson, specifically two songs from his Murder of Fireflies electronica project. Johnson’s “Safe Words” and “Nocturnal Dysthymia,” provide the oh-so-sexy soundtrack to the new exhibit.
As the EHM Director Dr. Victoria Hartmann says, “We couldn’t be more excited to have Mitchel Johnson’s captivating musical style grace the magnificence of the Luis and Romulo Royo exhibit. His meticulous attention to detail in everything he does manifests into a unique and sensual sound that transfixes and transports the listener to another realm. His ‘Murder of Fireflies’ electronica project is a wonderful addition to the magic of the Royo style of artistry and the EHM’s efforts to make music a part of our exhibitions.”
You can find Murder of Fireflies here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-wXrj9EdL8SksRlv8IO_Ww
and: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YO2mHwPBOFbKZEzD6GyDv
And the Erotic Heritage Museum at 3275 Sammy Davis Jr Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89109 and here: https://eroticmuseumvegas.com/
Sail into the dark, sweet waters of all things naughty! 