Re: [Leica] Leica Pornographers of the world Unite!

[Paul Chefurka <chefurka@home.com>]

On Mon, 19 Jun 2000 20:47:16 -0400, "B. D. Colen"
<bdcolen@earthlink.net> wrote:

>For the simple reason, since you ask, is that all they show me are two
>faceless people having sex in shadows. "Arty," maybe, but they don't tell me
>anything other than that. And, yes, I would ask the same question about
>many, many, many landscapes, and many street scenes.As in, yah, that's a
>mountain, so what's your point? Or, yah, there are a lot of people on that
>crowded street, and there's a woman smoking, so?
>
>Further, I would suggest that someone does not post shots of a couple having
>intercourse simply to get us to comment on f stops, etc....

Sorry if it seemed as though I was picking on you, B.D. - I'm really
not.  Your comments simply provided a convenient entry point for these
thoughts.

What bothers me is that so many banal photos are exposed for comment
on the LUG, and seem to slide by with gentle pats on the head.  Then
along come some pictures that happen to involve (heaven forfend) sex,
and the supportive (or at least restrained) attitudes we take for
granted here seem to go out the window.

I also don't recall Michael asking us to comment on technical issues
per se.  He asked for comments and critiques, no qualifiers attached.
You may impute whatever motives you wish, of course, but for me there
is little difference in asking for critiques for this kind of work or
critiques of any other genre - especially when the request for
criticism is phrased so open-endedly.

It's interesting to me that we are so much more prepared to forgive
artistically or technically clumsy pictures when the subject makes us
say "Awww" than when it makes us say "Ewww".  While I understand that
this is a result of cultural conditioning, it is still - to me - a
disappointing indication that we are letting our subjective reactions
colour our objective responses.

Lastly, I must admit that I'm much more at ease with the frankness of
these photos than the coy "boudoir" stuff that has been displayed to
the LUG in the past.  There is, for me, less of a sense that a sly
photographer is trying to slip something past my defenses, or that a
timid photographer is too nervous to reach out and touch his subject
matter directly - relying instead on innuendo to convey the message.

Of course, those are my very personal reactions.  The pictures made me
feel uncomfortable, but then I like that.  At least they didn't leave
me feeling indifferent, and for me that is one essential quality of
good communication.

Paul Chefurka