Is the David porn? Come see, Italians tell Florida parents

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: AP

ROME (AP) — The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the David on Sunday invited parents and students from a Florida charter school to visit after complaints about a lesson featuring the statue forced the principal to resign.

Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation for the principal to visit so he can personally honor her. Confusing art with pornography was “ridiculous,” Nardella said.

The board of the Tallahassee Classical School pressured Principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign last week after an image of the David was show to a sixth-grade art class. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about “controversial” topics being taught.

The incredulous Italian response highlighted how the U.S. culture wars are often perceived in Europe, where despite a rise in right-wing sentiment and governance, the Renaissance and its masterpieces, even its naked ones, are generally free of controversy. Sunday's front page of the Italian daily publication Corriere della Sera featured a cartoon by its leading satirist depicting David with his genitals covered by an image of Uncle Sam and the word “Shame.”

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-school-uproar-leads-italy-181745300.html

[dem4decades]

1. If I was that principal I'd be on the first flight to Italy I could.

[Earth-shine]

2. If the statue of David were porn, his dick would be erect ...

... and he'd be well endowed.

Hey Tallahassee Classical School, tell me what was God doing with those naked all-female angels moments before he decided to reach out to Adam?

Please insist that these images be removed from the Sistine Chapel.

[tornado34jh]

4. You just read my mind

I was saying the exact same thing, and as someone who has been to Europe and been to numerous museums, churches, cathedrals, etc. I have to say, you have to wonder why people in Europe see most Americans as stupid. They probably are thinking, although they wouldn't say it out loud, why are they here if they are so ignorant?

[ProudMNDemocrat]

20. It was the Puritans who settled here first.

Their screwed up ideas about the body, the function of, was what led to many draconian laws of the 17th thru 20th centuries. Even now.

[tornado34jh]

23. It goes back further than that.

Ironically, the Puritans left England and the whole point of it was to escape religious persecution. But it turns out, they were no better than before they left. In fact, if anything they were worse.

[jmowreader]

54. Well, that's the story they want you to believe

The reality is the Puritans were such religious extremists they got run out of every decent country there was by the local churches. They even got run out of Holland, which has a long-standing tradition of religious Liberty. The Puritans didn’t want that - they wanted everyone in the country to be just like them - so finally the church told them to find somewhere else to go.

As a result, they went to what is now Massachusetts and screwed it up to the point they were hanging people up in Salem because they weighed as much as a duck.

[3auld6phart]

52. Aaye

Those bastards were kicked out of England. And their ignorance and stupidity still hangs heavy in the United States. It’s a bloody wonder they know how to breathe.Feckin’ Cromwell round heads

[BOSSHOG]

19. So trump can't do porn?

Yeah MTG, GET UP THEIR AND START SCRAPING ON THE SISTINE CHAPEL. let the world know, by god who has values.

[Beastly Boy]

27. They look like trans angels to me.

In various stages of transition.

And God appears a lot more comfy in their company than I imagine he would in the company of MTG or Ron DeSantis.

[NullTuples]

48. I mean, angels were neither male nor female.

Male grammar was typically used in Hebrew & Greek, but it was arguably the same as using "man" to represent all of humanity (ie sexist). But the art is a mix, depending on who created it and what the intended role of the angel was to be - again, it was highly sexist.

According to the Bible and later Church Canon, Angels were messengers who were not physical and certainly not biologically sexual beings; they were said to take human form the way we might choose an outfit for the day. That's why in stories such as Job at Sodom*, they were said to be "disguised" as two very handsome men.

*I choose to use the "Darmok & Jalad at Tanagra" structure for such citations

[Marcuse]

32. Michelangelo's defense is that he only painted someone's idea of God.

[Earth-shine]

34. What I remember is that he didn't want to paint the chapel.

Was it the pope? Was it the king? If I recall correctly, he was coerced.

His reasoning was that he was a sculptor, not a painter.

His images are indelible in our minds.

[tornado34jh]

3. Honestly, this is getting ridiculous

Have they seen a lot of European art? I have been around Europe and there is a ton of naked stuff on paintings, frescos, sculptures, etc. Heck for crying out loud, they have it in cathedrals, basilicas, churches, and other religious buildings. I should know, I have been there and seen it for myself, and nobody there says anything. This would be funny if it weren't the fact that people can be this stupid. You wonder why many Europeans see many if not most Americans as stupid. Also, you aren't even allowed to take photos of the sculpture anyway, although they will sell you of it. I mean if people in the US are going to get all up in arms because of some photo in Florence Italy, man, they are not ready for the world.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. Interestingly Europe went through what Florida is going through hundreds of years ago

The original Bonfire of the Vanities (not the book) took place in Florence back in 1497.

“artworks, books, cosmetics, dresses and much more were burned,”

[tornado34jh]

18. Seems just like you would see in the Dark Ages

This is the same governor who doesn't want any "foreign influence" at all

[elleng]

10. Guess not. Maybe no ART classes. or MUSIC.

[tornado34jh]

21. Only their "Southern" music and art are allowed

It might as well be.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. i am getting fed up with this nonsense. hope seawater floods florida soon.

[Mr. Evil]

8. Just keep tabs on Thwaites Glacier.

It's collapse may happen sooner than you think.

https://thwaitesglacier.org/about/facts

[riversedge]

40. Thanks. very good article

[AllaN01Bear]

16. i wonder what is on their devices? hmmmmm.

[paleotn]

7. 6th grade? Hate to break it to the parents, but

whether they like it or not, their kids already know what dicks are and what they're used for. All of them. Boys and girls.

[RobinA]

37. This Is Exactly

my first thought. What planet are these parents on? Or what planet did they grow up on that they think this is anything but old news to their middle school kids?

[elleng]

9. 'Confusing art with pornography was "ridiculous," Nardella said.'

EXCELLENT!

MAYBE some progress, culture-wise.

Back to ART, eh? PLEASE!

[iemanja]

11. We truly have the stupidest people on the planet in this country

What an embarrassment.

[rsdsharp]

12. I don't mind them being stupid.

I mind them being in charge!

[Irish_Dem]

13. Stupid, ignorant, evil, immoral, dangerous.

It is an American tragedy.

[truthisfreedom]

14. Is the donald porn?

Or just parody?

https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/naked-trump-statue-captures-attention-union-square

[Sneederbunk]

15. Advice to Italians: Don't waste your time with Floridians.

[elleng]

22. No, that's a defeatist attitude, and it will exacerbate the existing harm.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

31. DeSantis is of Italian ancestry.

I'm going to start referring to him as DiSavonarola. See post 6.

[orangecrush]

45. This

[erronis]

17. And please don't let your children know that some man stuck something in their mother!

Except for blessed Mary who was miraculously stuck somehow. And Joseph put up with that explanation?

Seriously. Xians are just plain stupid. Whether they are actual believers (and I feel for your stupidity) or convenient fellow travelers (and you are just cons).

[enigmania]

24. Taliban

They really are just like the Taliban!

[UnderThisLaw]

25. Art Squad

starring Senator Jesse Helms


https://m.

[raising2moredems]

26. Perhaps DUH_Santis and the insecure pukes..

Should take a good look at the Miami (men's and women's) basketball uniforms. Screaming "gay" if you ask me. Besides the forensic vagina patrol, might need a forensic uniform patrol. Then again, perhaps it IS all about the bass (no treble).

[f_townsend]

28. David "porn" means that the USA has truly reached the tipping point of no return

Unless the silent majority of sane Americans finally flexes its muscle, the lunatic right wing fringe has finally won.

[OhioTim]

29. Better Close All Of The Major Art Museums In America

Fortunately, none are in Florida

[BigmanPigman]

30. I guess the GQP wouldn't approve of my light switch plate

of The David. The switch goes up and down. It is funny but they would say "porn!".

[Behind the Aegis]

33. Remember when Ashcroft covered that statue's breasts?!

Cover-Up At Justice Department

No longer will the attorney general be photographed in front of two partially nude statues in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice.

The department spent $8,000 on blue drapes that hide the two giant, aluminum art deco statues. For aesthetic reasons the drapes were occasionally hung in front of the statues before formal events. The department used to rent the drapes, but has now purchased them and left them hanging.

Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said the decision to install the curtains was made by Attorney General John Ashcroft's aide who handles advance work. "It was done for TV aesthetics," she said.

ABC News reported that Ashcroft ordered the statues covered because he didn't like being photographed in front of them.

more at link above

[area51]

41. Yep, I remember. n/t

[Bayard]

35. How embarrassing

I hope other countries don't think all Americans are this pea-brained. We were already embarrassed enough by trump.

[Wonder Why]

51. When a third of a country thinks [using the term loosely] like this, why wouldn't they?

Especially since more than half our elected Representatives and possibly (God forbid) our next president.

[keithbvadu2]

36. Is this porn?

[riversedge]

43. oh YUK--I want to UNse that!!

[The Jungle 1]

38. Keep thumping that bible

And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.
We are taught that God is omnipotent. Genesis 1:27

Is the right telling us God is ashamed of what he created?
The right elected a man who says it is just fine to grab women by the pussy.

The Americans who think David is porn need to see a doctor. You are sick.

[riversedge]

39. Repugs in the USA have once AGAIN made us a Laughingstock!!

[riversedge]

42. "incident was another episode in escalating U.S. culture wars and questioned how the statue could be

Marla Stone, head of humanities studies at the American Academy in Rome, said the #Florida incident was another episode in escalating U.S. culture wars and questioned how the statue could be considered so controversial as to warrant a prior warning!

Link to tweet

?s=20

[CrispyQ]

44. Fixed.

[maxsolomon]

46. It was likely 1 parent at that "Classical" school that complained.

The school is a full-on RW nutbag "Hillsdale Curriculum" Charter. We shouldn't overreact; there have been uptight, prudish parents for as long as there has been school. That will never change.

Read and weep:
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/03/florida-principal-fired-michelangelo-david-statue.html

Congrats to Firenza for capitalizing on the tempest to promote tourism, but the David is not hurting for visitors.

[moose65]

47. Good grief

Remember that old joke that it's impossible to define porn, but "you know it when you see it." ??

Well, you also know something is NOT porn when you see it.

This is unbelievable. The statue has been around for 500 years and hasn't caused any problems yet!

[NullTuples]

49. The controversy goes back to when Michelangelo was still alive.

M. himself argued that David should be given "decoration" when the statue was placed. He carved them accurately according to the style, but also realized they were going to be visible to the public. It *may* have been a political concession.

Shortly before he died, Bishops went around and covered all of the penises he'd carved onto his statues. Or hacked them off completely. There were a lot of them, by the way.

"In 1563, the year before Michelangelo died, the Council of Trent banned "lasciviousness" in religious imagery, and a dedicated campaign of figging began. Mostly this was just a question of covering up, but, in the 1800s, Pope Pius IX went further, and had the genitalia hacked off completely. I remember a historian saying, some years ago, that the Vatican, great collectors that they are, have crates of severed penises somewhere in their vaults."

From:

"Why the ancient Greeks didn’t make a big deal of penis size
A Cork gallery has removed the fig leaves from its statues, showing that small is beautiful"

And since people seem to be discussing this aspect as well:
"...in ancient Greece, which is the inspiration and source for a great deal of Renaissance art, a large penis wasn’t something to shout about. Instead, a smaller size was associated with good citizenry and intellectual pursuits."

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/why-the-ancient-greeks-didn-t-make-a-big-deal-of-penis-size-1.3953929

And from here:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-ancient-greek-sculptures-small-penises

[cstanleytech]

50. If Florida is labeling things like this as porn then will they be eviciting and or arresting Trump?

After all he is a visibly giant dick that is parading around in public and causing undo harm to countless children.

[CTyankee]

53. I remember when a copy of Picasso's "Guernica" on the wall of the United Nations was curtained

off the day the invasion of Iraq started.