I have always thought that eroticism does not detract from the artistic value that a work may have. And I have held on to that thought, which is why I have sought to demonstrate it with my photography all these years.
I feel that I have a pretty good idea of what specific aspects can make an erotic photograph lose its artistic value. And it is not necessarily about how explicit it is. Because no matter how explicit a work is, if you work from a certain perspective, with a clear intention, and you know how to play with lighting, you can have an extremely powerful, erotic image that has all the potential to be exhibited in art galleries.
Can’t you imagine it?
Need an example?
(If anyone knows the author of this photograph, I would be delighted if you could tell me.)
We then understand that “what is shown” is not the determining factor.
So what is it, in my opinion, that makes a photograph lose its artistic potential?
Even today in the 21st century, we are not able to give a defined concept to art. We understand that this concept changes from one person to another, however we have certain aspects on which we tend to agree (not always), such as what is beautiful or aesthetic. But art is not limited to expressing what is beautiful, this has led us to understand that a work of art is one that makes you feel something, that generates an emotion. These can be emotions that we understand as positive or not; that is why there is “ugly” art, since it is associated with emotions that we are not used to feeling or we consider negative.
If you’ve been following me, you’ll have already realized what the main factor is that reduces the artistic potential of an erotic work. It’s basically the difference between eroticism and porn.
Porn is not only explicit, but it is often direct, obvious… Everything is too much on the table, and it doesn’t leave us much room for our mind or our emotions to play. That’s why porn doesn’t make you feel more than a little warmth in your crotch; but on an emotional level, nothing.
On the contrary, erotic art focuses on creating an atmosphere, immersing you in a world with its own air, its own light, full of smells, textures, flavors, stimuli that, although they are not “real,” you can perceive and your body receives them without realizing that small detail. You feel curious, maybe nostalgic, you get excited and experience feelings of closeness and intimacy.
THAT is the determining factor. What makes you feel.
I don’t know if you can see more or less of the person’s body; there are extremely erotic photographs in which no one appears, you can simply see, for example, a wrinkled sheet, as if someone had just gotten up, and it invites you to think about what must have happened when that someone was in that bed.
It is visual poetry.
It’s inviting, leaving you the decision to come in. Not pushing you out the door and forcing you to stay.
With this I do not mean to say that one thing is better than another, these are differences that I have established over the years and after many debates.
Needless to say, I have nothing against porn, I think it is very necessary that there be all kinds of representation regarding sex. Furthermore, with feminist porn, the barrier between eroticism and porn is increasingly being broken down.
Hopefully in the not too distant future, we will be able to go to the cinema to watch pornography that is worthy of being on the big screen.
Anyway, you can agree with me or not, and either way it’s wonderful. Differences of opinion are not bad, even though we often think they are. But whether you agree with what I say or not, I invite you to analyze it more deeply and try to look beyond it the next time you see an explicit, erotic or pornographic photograph, and ask yourself: What do I feel when I see this?
