This essay will review the differences between erotic art and pornography, discussing different philosophical views such as Scruton to conclude whether erotic art and pornography are separate and to what extent. Both erotic art and pornography involve nudity and sexual desire to some extent. However, both have different purposes and purposes, which makes them distinguishable, which we will discuss in this essay. Erotic art aims to please its viewer aesthetically, while pornography aims to please its viewer sexually. This means that erotic art can be seen as beautiful and visually satisfying, while pornography has no beauty and is merely accessible to produce sexual arousal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe main difference that determines what is erotic art and what is pornography is that pornography appeals to our physical needs of sexual desire and aims to arouse the audience, while erotic art is more aesthetically pleasing and is more subjective to the audience, likely provoking a range of emotions from pleasure to curiosity. Pornography has the simple goal of arousing sexual desire, while erotic art depicts this sexual desire with more meaning and greater attention to aspects such as the beauty of the human form or age. Pornography largely involves a physical attraction between the individuals within the pornography and the viewer that is used in conjunction with the fantasy that is portrayed to the viewer to stimulate sexual desire and provoke thoughts of sexual intent. Erotic art, however, does not share this main goal and instead uses details to draw attention away from basic physical attraction and brings more attention to the interesting ways in which sexual desire can be depicted, provoking thoughts of interest and originality . Erotic art can stimulate a sexual response to some extent, but this is limited compared to pornography as the audience can only achieve this response through imagination, their own personal experiences and emotions. This limits arousal as desire is imagined, whereas in pornography arousal is the goal and sexual acts are performed with the intent of arousal. The distinguishing factor of erotic art primarily using the audience's imagination and pornography requiring very little imagination is significant as it adds to the fact that erotic art is more subjective to the viewer and can be viewed in a much more innocent with respect to pornography. Pornography can draw the viewer into a fantasy that requires little thought and requires no imagination. Pornography does this by presenting us with “the object of lust rather than a symbol of it.” This allows for the satisfaction of sexual desire before the viewer can appreciate it as their thoughts are guided by what they are watching instead of being allowed to wonder. Kant's theory of disinterested pleasure states that pleasure in the beauty of art does not produce desire from without. spectator since “we take pleasure in something because we judge it beautiful, rather than judging it beautiful because we find it pleasant”. This supports the fact that erotic art and pornography can be distinguished since art does not produce sexual desire and pornography does. The audience for erotic art will enjoy it because it is beautiful, while the audience for pornography will find pornography pleasant and will therefore be tricked into calling it beautiful. He also states that disinterested pleasure does notit is associated with social norms since it does not involve reality. This shows how erotic art has a more artistic design that is aesthetically pleasing compared to pornography's lack of sophistication and effort in making sexual desire seem interesting or meaningful. Kenneth Clark, an art historian, states that the nude is not an object of art, but a form of art. This means that instead of the naked being simply described in the image, she is not directly depicted making it more of a proposition than a direct representation. Clark believes that for erotic art to be aesthetically pleasing, it must be designed rather than described. This allows for an idealization of the human body, making it less realistic than pornography which has the sole purpose of arousing, and allowing for different purposes such as arousing interest in the artwork or producing feelings of empathy. Clark also distinguishes between the nude and the nude, which is closely related to the distinction between erotic art and pornography. Clark is referring to the way we associate the word naked with guilt and embarrassment and consider it a shameful word that shouldn't be thought of. Societal norms describe nudity as dishonorable and promote that people should have little respect for those who are naked. The word naked, on the other hand, is associated with a state of beauty, grace and well-being. When we use the word nude, we usually think of it together with purity and art. Those who are naked can stand in confidence, while those who are naked stand in humiliation. This conveys the difference between erotic art and pornography as those depicted in erotic art are seen as nude and those featured in pornography are considered nude. Roger Scruton believes that pornographic art does not exist. He believes that pornography is incapable of beauty due to its purpose of titillation, while art can be erotic and beautiful as it engages the viewer's imagination instead of their sexual fantasy. Erotic art allows the viewer's imagination to expand and engage their personal thoughts and experiences with the artwork, while pornography tells the viewer what fantasy is and leaves no room for the imagination as it is represented for him. Scruton distinguishes between erotic art and pornography through their intentions. Erotic art evokes the pleasure of the imagination, while pornography evokes the pleasure of sexual desire. Scruton believes that erotic art is the meeting of human beauty with artistic beauty, meaning that it is aesthetically pleasing and produces an interested response from its viewer of the human form. This distinguishes it from pornography which manipulates human beauty to stimulate a sexual response. Scruton discusses the difference between animals and humans as animals have drives and needs, while humans have Eros and choice. This is important when talking about erotic art separate from pornography as it explains that humans can enjoy sexual desire without needing to engage in it. Humans have an individuality which allows for the subjectivity of erotic art as each individual will think and feel differently when looking at it. Pornography, however, is universal and every individual will feel the same sexual desire when viewing it. This shows that erotic art and pornography can be distinguished as erotic art is personal to each viewer and can arouse different emotions, thoughts and experiences based on the complexity of the art and the different focuses each artist decides to use and pornography is more conventional, provoking the same response from every audience with every piece of pornography. Another thing that distinguishes erotic art from pornography is the objectification of the formfeminine in pornography as no interest is evoked by the face and it is seen as simply another part of the body, whereas, in erotic art faces are given importance and are able to evoke thought and wonder in their viewers outside of desire sexual. Scruton compares two artists, Titan and Boucher, analyzing faces in their erotic art. In Titan, “the face individualizes the body, possesses it in the name of freedom, and condemns every greedy gaze as a violation. The Titan's nude neither provokes nor excites, but preserves a detached serenity, the serenity of a person, whose thoughts and desires are not ours but his. Scruton approves Titan's erotic art fulfills the goal of arousing interest and having a meaning that pornography does not. Instead of producing sexual desire, Titan's erotic art produces thought and curiosity about the individuals who were depicted, which successfully distinguishes them as part of erotic art and not pornography. However, “Boucher's nudes are not individualized by their faces. In reality they all have the same face, which is not a face at all, but a collection of parts. The lips slightly apart as if waiting for a kiss; the light eyes under the lowered eyelashes; the full oval outlines of flushed cheeks billowing out like sails in the summer breeze – all these features, brilliantly displayed from every angle and in every light, carry a single meaning, which is that of sexual appetite. Scruton disapproves of Boucher's erotic art as less attention is paid to the context of the painting and more attention to femininity and desirability by having the same mediocre female role in each painting, making it easier to sexualize the paintings by focusing less on the same face and more on the body, turning it into a more pornographic painting. Modern erotic art can be seen as more difficult to distinguish from pornography since the birth of the naked selfie. The controversy over whether the naked selfie is erotic art or pornography is evident as an article talks about the artistic way Kim Kardashian captured her naked, pregnant body showing off the beauty of pregnancy. Another article explains that Kardashian's nude selfies cannot be considered pornographic as her expression and composition do not arouse arousal but evoke humor and empowerment for women to be confident in their bodies without sexualizing it. However, another article talks about its pornographic nature. The article claims that Kim Kardashian is self-objectifying through this nude selfie and attacks the idea that it can be constituted as art, calling it selfish and lacking creativity to produce any thought or imagination. Although controversy exists based on the distinction between modern erotic art and pornography, the main factors that make erotic art non-pornographic remain the same, however, they can be subjective to the viewer. The nude selfie can be classified as erotic art if it does not have the pornographic intention of producing sexual arousal and instead aims to be visually pleasing and stimulating. Individuals may classify a work of erotic art as pornography due to their own sexual desires, but this only emphasizes the artistic nature of erotic art as it caused the viewer's imagination to expand and become interested in the art, while pornography forces sexual desire on the viewer and paints the picture for him so that it does not require his imagination. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, one can distinguish between erotic art and pornography as erotic art does not show sexual desire but describes it in a way..