Voyeurism in Art

Much of fine art skirts an indistinct line between pornography and tasteful voyeurism. American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe is notorious for his images of homo-erotica that are frequently mistaken for pornography, and Sally Mann published a highly controversial series of photos of her young children, many of which involved nudity that some viewers found beautiful and others obscene. When public opinion on work such as this is so divided, it can be difficult for artists to receive funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, an independent government-funded agency that gives money to artists and brings art to public spaces.

The mission of the NEA is to support the most excellent art and make it widely available. However, much of the art supported by the NEA has been viewed by its audiences as pornographic or obscene. In response, the NEA sates that “obscenity and pornography are degrading, and that is not what art is about. Obscenity is the antithesis of art; it has no soul.” Though Mapplethorpe does include elements of erotica in his work, the intent is not to capture an erotic/pornographic scene; rather, Mapplethorpe’s photos are a light study of the form and beauty of human bodies and skin, along with other formal photographical elements. In a similar vein, the work of Sally Mann’s that features her children, often half-clothed or unclothed has come under fire from critics of the NEA. Many people see the work as an abomination; they find it unthinkable that Mann profits on what they view as an exploitation of her children. However, the work again did not have anything to do with the nakedness of with sex appeal, it was simply a study of children in a comfortable family environment.

Often, the interpretation of art is left up to the discretion of the viewer. However, in cases like this, art can often be misconstrued as something that it is not, or social mores can lead the viewer to believe that something is wrong with what he/she is seeing. Understanding the artists’ intent is key to understanding and appreciating the work.


Sources:

http://pastpresentfuturelondon.blogspot.com/2010/07/sally-mann.html
http://www.adhikara.com/robert-mapplethorpe/sitemap.htm
What Remains. Dir. Steven Cantor. Perf. Sally Mann. Stick Figure Productions, 2005.
Robert Mapplethorpe. Dir. Nigel Finch. Perf. Robert Mapplethorpe. British Broadcasting Corporation, 1988.