Samantha Wolov

Samantha Wolov

Joven fotógrafa norteamericana que vive en San Francisco. Tiene un blog llamado "Nekkid with a Camera". Es bastante sarcástico el slogan que cuelga al hablar sobre ella: "I take pictures of people having sex and call it art."

"My work is a response to a lot of social theory that I simply don’t agree with. First, people assume there are clearly established definitions of art and porn, but because everyone’s definitions are different and subjective, these concepts can’t be defined, so basing an argument on definitions isn’t effective. I also don’t agree with the binary that it’s art versus porn, denying the chance of any overlap. I see little aesthetic difference between “art” and “porn”. When I say that, I’m reacting to people who argue a traditional nude photograph is “art”, and a photograph in a magazine like Playboy is porn. Someone had to design those shots, develop the lighting, find the models, edit the pictures, and overall, needed an artistic eye and an attention to detail. So what, because of their venues, one is art and one is porn? Yes, there are spectrums for art and porn, and yes, sometimes there are obvious differences between them, but I want to focus on the overlap, on the times when you can’t tell the difference. If you can’t tell the difference between art and porn, what does that say about the definitions between the two? What does that say about societal notions towards porn, sexuality, and erotica?

Moreover, I think by pitting porn against art, you’re pitting the stigmas and associations around each against each other, too. It’s the nature of the binary. If art is supposed to represent culture, expression, class, refinement, and education, then porn, by nature of the binary, is supposed to represent lack of morals, lack of education, and lack of class. That’s not fair. People who enjoy pornography have every right to do so, and should, in no way, be made to feel guilty about this.

I want to take pictures that can’t clearly be labeled as art or porn, to encourage people to reevaluate their ideas of the two and perhaps recognize that not only is there overlap between them, but that the overlap isn’t disastrous. I’m not trying to proselytize, I just want people to think."