Erotic photography
Pornographic photography generally moves in the direction of the "obscene", and is judged as lacking in artistic or aesthetic value; however, the line between art and pornography has been both socially and legally debated,[1] and many photographers have created work that intentionally ignores these distinctions.
[3] However, a number of well-known film stars have posed as pin-up models and been promoted in photography and other media as sex symbols.
In addition, the earliest daguerreotypes had exposure times ranging from three to fifteen minutes, making them somewhat impractical for portraiture.
Because of this, the standard pornographic image shifted from one of two or more people engaged in sex acts to a solitary woman exposing her genitals.
Although thousands of erotic daguerreotypes were created, only around 800 are known to survive; however, their uniqueness and expense meant that they were once the toys of rich men.
The technology also reduced the exposure time and made possible a true mass market for low cost commercial photography.
Many of these dealers used the postal system to distribute erotic photography, sending the photographic cards to subscribers in plain wrappings.
[5] Parallel to the British printing history, photographers and printers in France frequently turned to the medium of postcards, producing great numbers of them.
[11] The initial appearance of picture postcards (and the enthusiasm with which the new medium was embraced) raised some legal issues that can be seen as precursors to later controversies over the Internet.
Instead, nude and erotic photographs were marketed in a monthly magazine called La Beauté that was ostensibly targeted for artists looking for poses.
Each issue contained 75 nude images which could be ordered by mail, in the form of postcards, hand-tinted or sepia toned.
This small, portable device made nude photography in secluded parks and other semi-public places easier, and represented a great advance for amateur erotica.
Early 20th century artist E. J. Bellocq, who made his best known images with the older style glass plate negatives, is best remembered for his down-to-earth pictures of prostitutes in domestic settings in the Storyville red light district of New Orleans.
In contrast to the usual pictures of women awkwardly posed amid drapery, veils, flowers, fruit, classical columns and oriental braziers, Bellocq's sitters appear relaxed and comfortable.
Other photographers of nude women of this period include Alexandre-Jacques Chantron, Jean Agélou[14] and Alfred Cheney Johnston.
[18] His work, featured in the archives of the Kinsey Institute, is artistically composed, often giving an iridescent glow to his figures.
[21] Nude photographers of the mid-20th century include Walter Bird, John Everard, Horace Roye, Harrison Marks and Zoltán Glass.
Roye's photograph Tomorrow's Crucifixion, depicting a model wearing a gas mask while on a crucifix caused much controversy when published in the English Press in 1938.
Founded in 1965, Penthouse magazine went a step further than Playboy and was the first to clearly display genitals, initially covered with pubic hair.
In the 1970s, in the mood of feminism, gender equality and light humour, magazines such as Cleo included male nude centrefolds.
There are a variety of print and online publications, which now compete against the major magazines (Playboy, Penthouse) and cater for the diverse tastes.
