❓ PLP Inquires II ❓

03.07.22

I watched a great documentary about Robert Mapplethorpe this weekend and it got me thinking.

Where is the line for you between art and pornography? There are beautiful erotic images and there are very graphic images that could swing both ways. Does the medium matter? The subject? Do you prefer one over the other?
There is no difference. Porn is merely a form of art.

The purpose of art is to evoke a response in the viewer by the simulation of an experience. Porn easily meets that definition. The line between erotica and porn is mostly imaginary, a division of something that doesn't need to be divided.
 
03.07.22

I watched a great documentary about Robert Mapplethorpe this weekend and it got me thinking.

Where is the line for you between art and pornography? There are beautiful erotic images and there are very graphic images that could swing both ways. Does the medium matter? The subject? Do you prefer one over the other?
Why do you ask?
 
I'll be more serious - I think the question is less where is it drawn and more why is it drawn? I think there may be times when it's reasonable to draw the line, maybe for public exhibitions, etc. But, that's an editorial 'use your best judgement' case.

The why, though, that I think is interesting.
 
03.07.22

I watched a great documentary about Robert Mapplethorpe this weekend and it got me thinking.

Where is the line for you between art and pornography? There are beautiful erotic images and there are very graphic images that could swing both ways. Does the medium matter? The subject? Do you prefer one over the other?
Not mine but I agree with it and he says it better: "Art can be erotic and also beautiful, like a Titian Venus. But it cannot be beautiful and also pornographic—so we believe, at least. And it is important to see why. In distinguishing the erotic and the pornographic we are really distinguishing two kinds of interest: interest in the embodied person and interest in the body."

http://www.arte.it/foto/600x450/ed/100363-Venere_di_Urbino.jpg

The part in bold is a big difference, IMO. When I see Titian Venus, the seduction for me is in her eyes, despite her being naked. She offers herself languidly to the viewer, with an ambiguous gesture between modesty and invitation. She questions us with her face open, and her eyes defying our eyes. It's a masterpiece.

Or, maybe I'm just biased because it's one of my favorite paintings. Shrugs. :D
 
On a side note: I wonder what the symbolism of the child in the background rummaging through a storage chest means.

Maybe it adds to her femininity that she’s got children around her. Or maybe it adds to her power.

I love your take on how her eyes are the the powerful and seductive part of this painting rather than her naked body.
Great question....

Mom....where are your clothes again? You promised me McDonald's for breakfast today...remember?

I love paintings from this time period. I was raised very isolated in the Black Swamp region of Ohio. Then my youth was spent in the drug world...more isolation. So when I got clean, it was a period of enlightenment. And I wanted to absorb it all. They brought in some of the biggies to the Columbus Museum of Art so naturally, my wife then took me to see them. I was in awe. The size of the paintings. The realism. Words...can not describe. I could sit in front of just one for days
 
03.08.22

What is one ingredient that will persuade you to order something on a menu over all the other options?
If it's something I've not had before, that's likely going to persuade me to try it.
But, just one ingredient, anywhere I see it? I don't think anything is that persuasive.
 
03.08.22

What is one ingredient that will persuade you to order something on a menu over all the other options?
I don't think there is a single, over-riding, ingredient for me. There are some ingredients that will make me NOT order something (cilantro tastes like metallic dirt to me). Probably the closest I come is chocolate in a dessert, all other things being equal, I'll opt for something with chocolate.
 
I really love this take. And I think it holds true. I also love this painting. ❤
Your explanation actually reminded me of something I read precisely on the difference between erotic and pornography. I don't remember whether it was in "Beauty" or "Sexual Desire" but in principal it's the same idea. ;):D

On a side note: I wonder what the symbolism of the child in the background rummaging through a storage chest means.

Maybe it adds to her femininity that she’s got children around her. Or maybe it adds to her power.

I love your take on how her eyes are the the powerful and seductive part of this painting rather than her naked body.

She is not a child. She is another handmaid taking clothes from the chest for her lady (Venus). The English speaking world usually calls the painting Titan Venus, to deferentite it from Venus of Botticelli. But the name of the painting is Venus of Urbino and that's how we call it in Italy too. :)
 
03.08.22

What is one ingredient that will persuade you to order something on a menu over all the other options?
Oooh, I don’t think there’s one ingredient that would influence me like that. As someone else said, it really depends on the type of food… but lately I’ve had a thing for shrimp, so maybe that currently.

And I agree with the chocolate for dessert… or if the chocolate dessert sounds too overwhelmingly rich (rare but does happen), something creme filled.
 
Your explanation actually reminded me of something I read precisely on the difference between erotic and pornography. I don't remember whether it was in "Beauty" or "Sexual Desire" but in principal it's the same idea. ;):D



She is not a child. She is another handmaid taking clothes from the chest for her lady (Venus). The English speaking world usually calls the painting Titan Venus, to deferentite it from Venus of Botticelli. But the name of the painting is Venus of Urbino and that's how we call it in Italy too. :)

Keep talking please...you make my head swirl and heart beat faster
 
Keep talking please...you make my head swirl and heart beat faster

😍

Well, first of, I see I have written Titan instead of Titian. :rolleyes:

I still can't get my brain around the spelling in English. 😓 lol

Secondly, I would recommend you a very good documentary about Tintoretto. An Italian&Sky Arts UK co-production, "Tintoretto - A Rebel in Venice".

I think he is a painter that would speak to your sensibility a lot. ;) 😘
I would've shared the docu. with you but I have it with Italian audio only. If stumble on the English version, watch it.
 
03.08.22

What is one ingredient that will persuade you to order something on a menu over all the other options?
No particular ingredient persuades me. I am more likely to go for offbeat choices, though. Menus around here are sadly similar, so when I see something unusual, I tend to order it. Did I order the camel burger? Yep. Did I get the kangaroo nachos? Of course!
 
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