Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Does showing a man’s penis make an image pornographic?

When I was first getting into photography and still shooting on film, I had a young gay man come into my studio whom I wanted to shoot nude.   He was very excited by the prospect of seeing what we could create together.  His only stipulation was he did not want any pictures where he would be naked and show his face in the same image.  He was OK with doing face images and torso images or nudes from the neck down.  I agreed and said I would work within the parameters.   Hey, I had a live model who was willing to strip down and allow me to explore him naked with my light through imagery.   He had a classic form and moved and stood in such a way that I knew would be reminiscent of a Greek sculpture.  I worked very hard to create a lighting design that would make him look fantastic. We both had an amazing session and were both excited by what we had created.   I processed the film and printed the contact sheets.  The images on the contact sheets were raw still, but I could visualize the beauty that would come from one of it’s prints.   I called the kid up and arranged for a meet, excited to show him what we had created.   When he saw the contact sheets and he too was pleased.  I gave him a set of the sheets to take home, he had a boyfriend he wanted to show.   I headed back into the darkroom and began to work on one of the images and it totally began to come to life.   I printed it on a beautiful flat silver gelatin paper so that the tones and flesh had a smooth velvety finish and felt they were actually emerging from the darkness.  Everything fell exactly where I know they would.  The print was remarkable; I felt like I had created a masterpiece that could hang in someone’s bathroom or an open space or a gallery.  Very classic in it pose, form, and structure.  To me it was perfection for this type of image.  It captured the essence of the early pastoralist style of the photo-secessionist from the early 1900’s.   I had been studying the photographers and movement from this era and was particularly drawn to the images of Fred Holland Day’s work.   I succeeded on every level to create this style of image.  In structure, light fall off, and soft focus beauty on the flat paper.

I called the kid back and told him what a remarkable image I had created of him and I immediately knew something was wrong by the tones of his voice.  He did not want to see the image and did not want to work again because he had shown the image to his boyfriend who said it was pornographic and did not think he should lower himself to the standards of creating porn.  I was stunned and shocked.   It really got me questioning, what are the distinctions between art and pornography?  It has been an image that has haunted me most of my photographic career.   In my minds eye I had created a remarkable piece of art yet someone else sees it as pornographic?   Because there is a penis in the image does that constitute porn?  In a sense this kind of hurt me because I felt like I was heading in a positive direction and it made me fearful of asking anyone to pose naked again.  If people deem what I am doing was porn, I would get that kind of reputation it will kill any chances of finding models to work with in our small town.   It also put doubt in my approach and stirred a question in the back of my mind every time I worked toward nude images. I took me a long time to ask someone to pose nude again, and it’s still in the back of my head as I work toward these images. The kid never saw the final image and I put it away in a box to be lost with lots of other worthless images I created.

VIEW FULL IMAGE: TORSO 2001

7 comments:

Dave said...

I see pornography as something that is created in such as way as to titillate and excite the mind and body sexually either through provocative pose or sexual act. Your photographic art is exactly that - art showcasing the beauty of the male physique or outer and inner identity of the individual. You have a talent at teasing that out and helping men begin to embrace and become more comfortable with that outer and inner self.

Terry J Cyr Photography said...

Photography is like a dialogue. It takes two to communicate. As I am working with people I try to bring the communication to a visual level. Your views on what separates pornography from art is a constant in my head and will become a topic that I will debate a lot this upcoming year. I always love to be challenged by other people perspective on the issue.

Dave C said...

When I said your photographic art is exactly that - I meant to imply that it is "purely artistic in nature" not in anyway pornographic! Just wanted to bring clarity to my statement that somewhat grammatically alluded to your work being pornographic and it is clearly not! The intuitiveness you bring to your work creates images that electrify a connection between the viewer and the image that requires some cognitive unpacking. Those images with that invisible pull, mesmerize me and take me to mental and emotional places that I do not always allow myself to venture. I believe that your images help uncover one's self.

Anonymous said...

I once read porn described as "exposed intent." I think that pretty much sums it up for me.

Regina L. Ferrell said...

I am Ramon Fernadez's cousin. I am a straight woman from a little town in Kentucky. Showing a man's penis most certainly does NOT mak e am image pornagraphic! Showing a womans anatomy does NOT make an image pornographic! This photograph is pure and beautiful! It is not pornographic in any way. It saddened me to read about this model being so positive and pleased with the artful images you created tohether, only to have his partner make him feel bad and possibly ashamed. The male and female forms are beautiful creations of art in and of themselves, and make amazing subjects for artful images. I know this is only my opinion, and it will not change the minds of others. But, for those people i feel frustration and also pity, because it prevents them from appreciating such beauty.

Anonymous said...

Pornography is everywhere! Anything that brings us down, and does not raise us up, is pornographic. That is to say, it's always in the mind of the beholder. One man's beauty is another man's pornography. Erotic art is not pornographic because it's erotic; it's pornographic because it debases the erotic to the self-indulgent; it lowers the erotic to the base emotions which are selfish. Playboy is pornographic; Beaudelaire is not.

Anonymous said...

Your work is absolutely NOT porn. You should never give that another thought. Your work is beautiful. Just because there are stupid people in the world who can't tell the difference, doesn't mean you should pay attention to them. Leave it behind and keep making your art.