Imre Györgyi szerk.: A modell, Női akt a 19. századi magyar művészetben (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2004/2)

Tanulmányok / Studies - Kinses Károly: Egy kis akt-tipológia / A Sort of Nude Typology

postcards that multiplied in Hungary were made in France, Germany and Austria. However ardently a piquant, erotic postcard would like to resemble an artistic nude photograph, it was obvious to everyone that it belonged to the sphere of services instead of to the sphere of art. Made for the wide public, these postcards were kept carefully within the tolerable limits of public taste. This self-restriction was guided by thoughtful business and market considerations, and not by political directives. Pornographic pictures from the beginnings to the present day In brothels it was not only illustrated albums that awaited a gentleman to make his choice of partner, or partners, easier: there were also bed scenes for the esteemed customer to arouse his desire. In stereo-viewers he could see erotic stereo pictures, and coloured erotic photographs in peep-boxes heightened his spirits. No one knew who was in the picture, and no one knew where that picture was taken or by whom. As porno photos were usually illegal, they were anonymous. Although a few names can be gleaned from court proceedings or guild reports, the photographers of particular pornographic pictures are not recorded. Some characteristics can, however, be defined. First of all, the overwhelming majority of pornographic photographs are by men for men, and this determines the manner of representation. Second, since these photographs try to represent suppressed desires, perverted and unusual scenes are frequent. Third, since only money counted, evaluation was easy: a good and successful photograph was one that sold well; a bad photograph was one that did not sell well. Finally, pornography is the most constant genre, as there is not the slightest difference between the first pornographic photographs and the ones taken yesterday. All reveal the same gestures, patterns and poses. Moreover, despite all the bans and sanctions, pornography has become an integral part of mass culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. Eroticism and pornography in private photographs from 1900 to the present day Family (private) photographs of nudes and erotic, even pornographic, scenes are as old as photography itself. Relatively few such photographs survive, as people usually destroy them. Horus Archive and Privátfotó Archive preserve hundreds of them. Today, digital cameras take innumerable photographs of naked people. The millions disseminated on the Internet amount to a mere fraction of these. Thinking about nude photography has to begin from scratch.