The question of eroticism, pornography and art

By Chandra Johan

JAKARTA (JP): Eroticism, pornography and sexuality is the latest hot topic amid various issues and unsolved problems. It has become controversial in the midst of the penetration of mass culture in the current globalization era, in which the limits of eroticism, pornography and art become vague and confusing.

Confronted with moral issues and art, this subject becomes more and more complicated and even ridiculous, creating a number of questions that need answers. Can paintings by both Indonesian and foreign artists portraying naked models be categorized as immoral? Do works of art loaded with eroticism become non-art?

Must eroticism and sexuality problems be eliminated from cultural discourse? Does the portrayal of a naked female or male subject automatically promote eroticism? And can underwear advertisements, featuring male and female models, in the print media be considered pornographic too?

The discourse of sexuality should be examined further and deeper because it involves our knowledge of reality dimension, and because eroticism and sexuality belong to the discourse of human culture, both from the East as well as the West.

In the world of art, whether photography or fine art, the phenomenon of nakedness does not automatically count as sexual exploitation, eroticism or pornography. Although the works presented truly make an erotic impression, the artists cannot be accused of being immoral and exploitative.

In differing degrees painters Mochtar Apin, Srihadi Soedarsono, Basoeki Abdullah, Yoes Rizal (just to mention a few) used to paint erotic pictures of naked female subjects, while Jeihan painted a picture of a naked female which was not erotic at all. The Seated Nude and Red Chair (l966) by Srihadi is different from Jeihan's Nude (l977) -- the erotic charm is more obvious in Srihadi's work.

There are many factors and reasons for this. One of these, of course, is interpretation. Some artists are dissatisfied when their paintings of a naked woman do not look erotic, even though the model was not erotic or the artist did not use a model.

In many artifacts of ancient culture, whether in the East or the West, naked objects, eroticism and love themes become a discourse of its own culture and a mark of social status.

In Chandella temple in Khajuraho, North India, we can find statues presenting the theme "lovers" (Mithuna), i.e. a couple making love. Generally the man is taller, bearded and represents perfected masculinity. While the woman is generally smaller, submissive in the man's embrace. In portraying the woman, the beauty of the body contours and other parts are emphasized, which could represent femininity and idealized beauty.

With such a way of portraying, the lovers statue presents a moment of rapture to the viewer. What is interesting in that statue? First, in each statue the woman is smaller, and second, the woman is not stark-naked but is exquisitely dressed, with a cloth draped around her body, but with the belly and breasts exposed. Clearly, the statues represent erotic love, and among erotic representation, the degree of nakedness becomes the mark of lovers -- a divine couple are more clothed.

Eroticism in a religious setting is hardly anathematic, especially to Hindu art. Besides that, the presence of a loving couple on the temple has talismanic value, representing notions of wealth, prosperity and fertility. In interpreting the presence of an explicitly erotic sculpture in a religious space should be interrelated with an ideal kingship concept.

A brave soldier, a just ruler and a genuine king are also patrons and connoisseurs of all art forms, including the art of love. Therefore, a king is depicted as not only strong and powerful in battle and at court, but also in erotic pursuits.

Two thousand years ago in Mexico, Colima village artisans made erotic ceramics figures of loving couples with an expressive and lyrical representation. The representation was not only illustrative of the importance of love, but also served a cosmological purpose as well, that between life and death there is an inseparable part (woman and man are inseparable part, as are yin and yang).

In Western culture the representation of the naked body becomes a measure of its environment, and always becomes a dominant topic of the whole pictorial endeavor. In his book An Archeology of Morality in Bourgeois and Post-Bourgeois Times, Otto Steinert explains that naked bodies (in paintings or sculptures) represent the crowning artistic experience of an era.

According to him the body, with which man has been endowed by nature is ennobled, divested of its individuality in order to conform with established standards of perfection, to achieve the effect of regularity through proportion and harmony, so that ideal human figures are created, that even today considerably influence our pictorial consciousness.

To achieve that ideal beauty, the curvaceous figures are reduced to basic forms which conform to the established aesthetic laws, making them into totally depersonalized symbols of the female body, until it represents nothing more than the pictorial composition.

In the photography world, for example, the complete figures are cropped, often leaving just the torso, so that the pictures are far from any personal and erotic realms of representation.

In the world of photography the terms "subjective photography" and "objective photography" are used. The naked female object in the first approach tends to present an erotic fantasy effect, while the second approach generally seeks artistic sensitivity by eliminating carnal effects to elevate the human body in line with established aesthetic ideals.

Several studies about the nakedness phenomenon have come to the conclusion that the essence of erotic images does not depend on nakedness, but on the strategy of adding, putting and placing elements around them. Elements like socks, clothes, shoes, veils, shawls and other items are among the indispensable props to enhance the erotic effect.

"Distance is what defines the artistic nude, closeness defines the erotic objects, as well as, of course, the encouraging smile and a come-hither flash of the eyes." This study was made by Uwe Scheid in his book 1,000 Nudes.

Accordingly, the trend research of mass culture in l997 also came to the conclusion that erotic pictures in magazines or newspapers do not always rely on the nakedness, but on facial expression and the pose of the subject. The image of erotic women generally appears in a side by side composition, with "naughty" eyes. While naked woman in photography or paintings are usually in a frontal position, but it does not automatically become erotic, even though a moralist may call it pornography.