Nude vs Porn

In happier places, people have families, friends, and some board/card game with good supply of snacks and drinks. Here people have hobbies, and they invest time and money in their hobbies.

Anyway, I am here these days and I have been dabbling in photography. Like all software stenos, I too have purchased a guitar, a tennis racquet and a DSLR camera. I am deaf to chords, I can hardly get the ball cross the net and now I’m all set to prove the point in photography as well. That’ll complete the software dude trilogy.

Since my friends are far better off in their career as well as in social skills, they don’t need a hobby to pass time. That pushed me looking out in the outer space for activity partners. Finally I have found and joined few meet-up groups. I cannot travel for whatever reasons so I am stuck mostly with the indoor photography groups. Most of these groups claim to do artistic shooting. All they do is hire a model and shoot nudes.

So here I am, a loser who can’t play strings or tennis and now poised to become a pornographer. Nice!

I asked Mr. know-it-all Google to tell me when exactly a nude turns into porn, in my usual incognito mode. And he replied - a work of art tends to grip you in "aesthetic arrest" and freezes you in that moment. On the contrary, porn is more yang by nature, and draws the beholder towards the beauty (yin), or into the loo. It seems Joyce talks about this topic in his Portrait of an Artist. Well, I’ve read that book and I swear there was nothing like that. I just remember the relief I felt when I finished reading it.

Well I digress. Let me spare you what the Ancient Greeks had to say about art and porn. Let me say what I want to say.

To me, as a wannabe photographer, nudity seems like a loud fart in a corporate boardroom while the CEO is announcing something really important. The fart punctures the solemn balloon of civilization. In a flash it shows us what we are – animals with live orifices. The sheer contrast with the designer decor triggers humor and laughter. That’s the moment when the speaker is pitted against the f almighty fart and it’s subversive powers. And if he is able to retain the mental space of his audience, or reclaim it without losing time, and reduces the fart in just another background noise, he can consider himself a good speaker.   


Apology for that scatological detour. I realize it was not necessary. I should mind my language.

The point is, a good photo is a good photo, with or without tee-tees. The twins are liable to distract the viewer and monopolize his interest. Your job is to show these twins artfully so that viewers see the heart and soul of the subject and don’t run for privacy. If you could do it, you are the Joyce of photography, if you know what I mean.

Easier said than done though. The third part of trilogy is in the making.