Art or Porn?

The context in which the thing exists tells us a lot about whether it is, by definition of genre, 'art' or 'porn'. A Page 3 girl, or bikini-clad totty on even on the embarrassing Ryanair website (an airline!) is a form of titillation and soft porn to be mindlessly gobbled up by the (male) consumer. It is not intended to provoke thinking. It's what everyone sums up with the words "sex sells", shorthand for "capitalism's way to the breadwinner's wallet is through their pants, by serving up the opposite sex's body as prime cuts on a plate".

Now let's think to a gallery or an artist's portfolio, where there might be a photo that shows a woman completely naked, showing her breasts and even her genitalia. It is presented in an art context and it is likely that there is some kind of deeper intent to the image. But heck, the viewer might even be turned on by it (even more than any porn!) But that does not make its genre 'porn'. And the extent of the nudity, or skill level of the artist, are irrelevant. But then, even if the artist did not have a profound message, and is expressing their sexual desires - what of it? Balthus and Roy Stuart are both considered 'artists' the last time I checked.

 Something can be porn without even being nude, and vice versa. The level of nudity cannot answer the question as to whether something has an arousing agenda or not. In fact, in many cases, what we call 'nudity' in mainstream culture is actually not real 'nude' at all, but a nippleless, pubis-less cover operation. The more overtly the nipples and genitalia are obscured by the palms of the hands, by lingerie, or joke censor shapes - the more the image is set to titillate, as the question often implied is an eye-rollingly tedious "ooh, what's under there?" By 'covering up' a nude subject in this way, for whatever reason that happens, the constraint can impose the opposite effect to the liberating effect you may have wished for in choosing to shoot a nude (side note - that's why I increasingly started to avoid 'covering up' when doing nudes, in my attempt to avoid that contradiction).
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