Is erotica an art form?

Hi all,

Do you think erotica in literature ("Tropic of Cancer", "Lolita", "Little Birds", etc.) is an art form or do you think it's smut? I think it can be artistic, if it's done well.

What do you think?

I think its very artistic, its just a matter of how you feel about it and look at it.

Refresh my memory, what's the Tropic of Cancer about? I remember reading that when James Dean first moved out on his own and was away from his family and the rules of the simple life, reading that with his friends was supposed to be a big thrill for him or something, but what is it?

If it is, then I have enough art on my harddrive to prove that I'm "cultured".....

I think it depends. It's like, you take two examples of what people consider pornography...one example would be somebody posing nude, which it's argued is done in the name of art, it's considered artistic, and maybe it is, that certainly seems to be the case with the famous statues of naked women from over the centuries. But then you have the other example which would be a movie of a woman spreading 'em or bending over for a guy, or two, or three, or twenty, or whatever...in one case it can be argued it's artistic and probably is, but then you get the other one which would be an 'aw hell no'.

Yeah, I think so. I've read some stuff that made me blush.










And horny.

i have never read anything that ever made me feel uncomfortable. I remember my first erotica was The Story of O, which I found from a magazine and then once I started reading it, I had to hide from my mother. In my opinion, people in real life that are consenting adults can do whatever they want, therefore why not carry that POV to my reading? The only thing that I would disagree with when it comes to erotica is rape. I dont find that sexy and therefore dont want it in a book that i want to be exciting.

MandyPerfumeGirl wrote:Hi all,

Do you think erotica in literature ("Tropic of Cancer", "Lolita", "Little Birds", etc.) is an art form or do you think it's smut? I think it can be artistic, if it's done well.

What do you think?

These books ~ definitely! But most erotica book are not (at least, I don't think so).

I bought an old worn paperback copy of Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying" a couple of years ago, tried to read it, and finally threw it in the trash. I thought it was garbage.

yeah but the concept of art is in one perception of art. Was putting soup can labels really art? Andy Warhol did some pretty weird/common stuff and yet he is one of the most famous artist of the century!

its like beauty---eye of the beholder