The history of pornography and erotica goes back to pre-modern era. From that point on, there have been many works produced with highly sexual themes. First we have the pornogrpahic images of cave paintings by the ancient humans; the sexual depictions seen in Greek and Roman pottery and sculpture; the writings of well-known authors and poets such asPietro Aretino (15th century Italian writer), and D.H. Lawrence (British novelist), and famous paintings such as Venus of Urbino byTitian, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Picasso, and many more. The interesting thing about these past works of art is that many scholars regard them as erotica and not pornography. They hold the view that the nature of such works is intellectual in nature and it is the creative process that distinguished them from pornographic material.
The beginning of the 20th century was an era of boom for pornography. Visual and print materials with explicit sexual content were mass produced and an industry was gradually starting to grow. Whereas in the past centuries, sexual works of art and literature wereenjoyed by a limited social class, in the modern period of technology, the masses realized that access to such works was not the impossible. With the invention of film, there were new boundaries for those who created pornography. In the 70's and 80's, with the availibility of the VCR, there was even more access to pornography; people could now view it within the confines of their home. Since the 90's,the boundaries have been pushed by introducing new concepts and features into pornographic works. The tendency is now to try as many new things as possible in what many pornographers claim to be "unique, and exciting."
-- Edited by FIREMAN (Mzja Dj) on Wednesday 1st of September 2010 07:28:05 PM