hey buddies - so im really restless.
What is porn? I ask myself because i want to know what im shooting, and what i will be taken as, with a given body of work. Porn is an industry. Thats what porn is. Its material that is meant for making money off of a preexisting market where the goal is to create and sell work that fits a variety of categories. we all know what our personal impression of porn is, usually that of a combination of arousal and disgust. We see it as representing the act of sex in a graphic way meant to appeal to our basic vulnerabilities of the eyes and passions that are triggered and leading to fantasy, masturbation and satisfaction by aiding in the psyco-physical requirements for a self or co-induced orgasm.
But what is porn? something that makes you cum? thats very vague and subjective and doesnt define anything.
In nature, what is it that makes us sexually aroused? usually strong traits in the opposite sex that exhibit sexual availability. Its these traits that are the precursor the what constitutes porn to the industry.
Lets look first at swimsuit glam. The images are lit from every side, and you can see nothing but miles of curves, skin, bright eyes, thick natural hair, big plump boobs, legs open, tiny piece of material covering the labia, back arched direct eye contact, a touch of sass or happy expression to say - "im all yours come and get me"
porn is not much different. traditional porn was perfected with penthouse and perhaps playboy, using every trick in the book to the advantage of making a girl look perfect, youthful, glowingly healthy and vibrant, with the added element of bare nipples, crotch and ass. The expression is more subdued, and secondary, and not so direct. There is a sense of voyeurism.
what is art? so since we know what porn is now, we can more easily say what art is. i would like to state here that art is anything that is original and not designed for an industry, but out of a personal emotional connection with the subject and process. Art can become an element of industry, but industry cannot become art.
Therefore, porn can be made of art, if that art is taken from the art realm and placed into a porn market, but that which is designed for the market of pornography, will always be... porn... and nothing more.
Some might argue that the use their artistic energy to make their porn. But the fact that their motivation is to make industry pornography qualifies their work as impersonal and dictated by a cold clinical industry and negates any sincerity that is drawn upon to create the said works.
To shoot in "bulk" is not art.
Portraiture is not art.
Beauty shots are not art.
Glamour is not art.
Pop art... is rarely but sometimes art.
these are all industry scenarios and are driven by public demand and not the unction of the artist.
So if i make images that are erotic, that show nudity, every angle and part of a body, in all types of positions and expressions, it can't be called porn if im not selling it to the horny masses. There is a world called erotic art... and its different. lets talk about it.
Erotic art. This is material that is not always nude, but usually has at least some nude parts that are considered 18+. It is almost always the master works of an artist. I'm developing just recently some concepts that i feel will help to bring impact to my erotic art as i begin to collect works in this realm. The lighting is a matter of taste but has its tendancies to be less than direct. There is an air of mystirium and hard to get me attitude in the frames. It requires much effort on the behalf of the viewer. Usually a few frames are needed to complete an idea thats being presented, to develop a story line or setting and bring the viewer in, creating questions and tension. The shots are usually much closer, with shorter depth of field, and mixes of blur and motion and focus, with tendancies by the same right, to utilize wide angle establishing shots.
and now i am going to rest. I feel ive said what i set out to say. please forgive my strange habit of capitalizations and intentional use of words that are not in the dictionary.
A 3/4 portrait is anything where you cut off the subjects knees.
