pornography and erotica

[kentauros]

23. I'm no art scholar

though I have had my share of art history courses in getting my graphics education, so I'll offer up my views.

I think it just depends on the viewer as to what defines porn in their minds. You get plenty of people that aren't educated in any of the arts, much less have ever step foot in a museum of fine art, telling everyone else that anything "nekkid" is bad and just panders to prurient minds (like their own.) And that's one of the biggest differences between the US and Europe.

Anyone that's had a "life drawing" class, i.e., naked models, just doesn't look at the human body the same way any more. Yes, my libido is still affected by those forms I find sexually appealing, but I can look at any naked form in any piece of fine art you can name and not become aroused. And it's not just content, as in the case of erotica. While that certainly does show off the human body in a manner that can arouse the viewer, it's also doing so in an artistic way.

I guess to better organize my thoughts, the difference between the two is that pornography has the intent to not only arouse the viewer(s) but to also make money off of that arousal. The intent of erotica is more about artistically creating arousal for the purpose of making art, whether it makes money or not.