Nude Photography – Art or Porn?

Written by: steve

By Steve Russell

Note: Because of the subject matter of this article I am not including any photos.

More than likely, about 40% of the readers of this article will be on one side of the room, 40% on the other and 20% milling around in the middle. That’s okay because sometimes it’s good to get away from technical, middle-of-the-road articles and write about a subject that is sure to elicit emotional responses.

Last week, Tiffany posted a review of the website 500px. I thought it was an excellent article (yes, I’m biased) and very well presented. To me 500px is a refreshing change from sites like Flickr where some people seem to post every photo they’ve taken regardless of quality, subject matter or general interest to the public. One reader, however, posted the following comment:

With the nudity filter off it feels like a soft core porn site. And, it’s disappointing how much traction and attention those photos and photographers get for what I realize is legitimate, but even in the most artistic and respectful forms I find to be somewhat cheap.

You know what? The reader that posted the remark makes an excellent point. I admit that my initial reaction was, “Well, duh, don’t turn off the nudity filter if seeing nude photography offends you.” But the more I thought about it, the more I understood what was being said.

What is nude photography? Is it truly art or is it porn?

There are so many problems with this that there can’t be a “right” answer. But, unemotional, intelligent and intellectual consideration of the question can be helpful.

Is nude photography art? I think some of it is and some of it isn’t.

Is nude photography porn? Undoubtedly, some of it is and some of it is intended to be porn. Some of it is crap in my opinion. Many of the images make me wonder why the photographer would do that and why the model would stand for it, but that’s just me.

The issue is the lack of a universally accepted answer to the question” what is porn?” This is so much a cultural, societal and personal issue that the only real answer lies with the viewer.

Let me step back a little. Photography is an art-form. Not all photography is art. Painting, sculpture, music, literature, pottery, all are art forms. Not everything produced within those and other art-form disciplines are art.

Within the world of photography there are many different approaches or genre. Within each and all of them I have seen what I thought was art; absolutely beautiful art. And, within each and all of them, I have seen what I thought was complete crap. That’s my opinion and what I think is art or crap may or may not agree with what you think is art or crap. It makes no difference the medium. I think modern, surrealistic, impressionist painting is mostly crap. There are a large number of people out there willing to pay huge sums of money to own some of the stuff I think is crap. To them it’s art, or in some cases an investment.

The statue of David by Michelangelo is a nude sculpture as is the Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch. Are they art or porn? I think both are widely accepted as art.

The Three Graces by Rubens is a nude painting as are a number of his other works. Rubens work is generally considered art.

But for some reason when nude photography enters the discussion the lines become blurred and it moves from one side to the other depending on the viewer. I sometimes think it must be because most photography provides a more realistic image that painting or sculpture. Still, the answer is that some of it is art, some is porn and some is just total crap. In the end, the true answer lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Now about 500px. One thing that the website encourages is the photographers post only their very best work. Many do exactly that. Many others do not. Other sites like Flickr make no comments about quality and the great hoi polloi tends to post anything and everything. If you search for it, there’s a lot of nude photography on Flickr and I suspect on other sites as well.

500px, like Snapfish, Flickr and others is not a juried site. In other words, it’s up to the photographer to post anything he or she wants to post. Keep that in mind when viewing any photography site. With that in mind, if you don’t want to view nudity, keep the filter on. Don’t be surprised when you see a nude photo anyway because the filter depends on the posting photographer to categorize the photo as a nude photo. Most do, but not all photographers remember to categorize their photos.

When you view photos on 500px, go to the top of the page and click on Photos and then in the drop down box, click on Popular, Editor’s Choice or Upcoming. Once you’ve accessed one of the collections, you can also filter by category by using the drop-down box entitled Categories on the right side of the page. If you want to see everything that’s being posted at the time, click on Fresh but keep in mind you’re seeing everything and not just the best.

By viewing the photos in one of the first three categories, you will be able to view some awesome photography. You’ll also find that the vast majority of images that are receiving most of the traction and attention are not photographs of nudes but of a wide variety of subjects. And, if you don’t want to view nude photography, don’t turn off the nudity filter.

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