From: LeoCasey <LeoCasey-AT-aol.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 10:49:03 EST
Subject: M-TH: Art and Pornography


Regarding m.'s discussion of the relationship between art and pornography:

Maybe the way to approach this question fruitfully is not to start with
attempting to draw a distinction between art and pornography, but by examining
the visual organization, the visual economy, of pornography, in order to
understand its functioning better. Consider this example: in mainstream
heterosexual pornography, you almost never see an erect penis, even though it
is an obvious requirement for heterosexual intercourse. So in a discourse
which is predicated on the revelation of the hidden, the 'rending of the
veil', the liberation of the repressed, a major component remains unexposed.
Why is this the case, and what does it tell us about pornography? Could it be
that a regime based on the power of the phallus must maintain a certain
mystery -- an ordinary penis is not all that impressive? Could it be that the
exposure of an erect penis might introduce a homoerotic element which would
disturb the heterosexual economy of pornography? Other ideas?

Leo
 


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