Art & pornography: where's the line?

Actually it is really difficult to put a line between art and pornography, or even name the pornography as an art work. If we look through the dictionaries and definitions we will find different explanations for pornography which have same meaning at the bottom. The definitions of ‘pornography’ currently found in the literature fall roughly into six different categories: 1. those that define ‘pornography’ as the sale of sex for profit, 2. those that define it as a form of bad art, 3. those that define it as portraying men or women as, as only, or only as sexual beings or sexual objects, 4. those that define it as a form of obscenity, 5. those that define it as a form of (or contributor to) oppression, and 6. those that define it as material that is intended to produce or has the effect of producing sexual arousal (Michael C. Rea,2001). When it comes to judging each definition for pornography about which is unacceptable or even damaging to society might well differ from someone else’s. I have found a video that shows a group of people’s opinion about the difference between an artwork and pornography.

In some points I agree with some of them. I think the purpose of these works is an important element in judging them. For example we haveThe Kiss, marble sculpture, by Auguste Rodin,French sculptor, that we can name it as one of his great master pieces. The sculpture, The Kiss, was originally titled Francesca da Rimini, as it depicts the 13th-century Italian noblewoman immortalised in Dante's Inferno (Circle 2, Canto 5) who falls in love with her husband Giovanni Malatesta's younger brother Paolo (Wikipedia). Rodin indicated that his approach to sculpting women was of homage to them and their bodies, not just submitting to men but as full partners in ardor. This sculpture can be named as one pornographic work, but its nature is absolutely an artistic masterpiece that shows real love and unity.

On the other hand if we look at the pornography as sexually explicit material it will be impossible to ignore the damages that it brings to the society. Women, families, and children are the victims of using these materials. All I can say is that this type of material in these days can be harmful in many aspects and the degree of its damages depends on the knowledge, education, age, gender, and beliefs of the people and the norms and cultures and of the society. Bur we should remember that pornographic works such as Rodin’s sculpture has their artistic worth that we cannot ignore them.