Monthly Archives: August 2011

More Erotic Depictions

31 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in art, beauty, eroticism, women

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“Sleeping Venus” by Giorgione, ca. 1510.

What is erotic beauty and why does it attract me so? Each day I seem to need some sustenance in this area. The loveliness of the world around me, the sensuality of life, are intoxicating. Feminine beauty is so alluring, so stunning and inspirational. And of course there is more than simply feminine and erotic beauty, there is the beauty of nature, of the early morning dew, the sunrise, the chorus of birds awakening at dawn, the hymn of cicadas at dusk. The world, as cruel as it may seem sometimes, is still filled with many types and kinds of beauty. When life seems dark and filled with despair, the simple presence of a small bit of beauty helps to lighten such moments. Seeing a beautiful woman can help to infuse some joy into a man’s heart.

The painting above is from the Renaissance artist Giorgione, Sleeping Venus, ca. 1510.  This is the first full nude painting of a woman in Western art. I am sure at the time it caused quite a scandal, and was perhaps even considered “porn” by many. I am sure today it would still perhaps elicit some disdain from certain quarters. Michele Bachmann would probably like to have it burned.

As a nude, it is inherently erotic. Her body is, strangely enough, more natural seeming than many of the nude models we see today. This is the actual body type of most women, as opposed to the anorexic stick figures so common in today’s photography. Giorgione imbues it with a deep sensuality, Venus’s sleep evokes the languorous sweetness of sex, especially those soft moments after the fury of passion has passed, and the body is spent from consummating desire. Sleep is often part of the act of love that is neglected and the embrace of two lovers lost in sleep after their love making can be as deep a bond as the passion of sex itself.  Her hand covering her mons Veneris lets us know explicitly that this painting conveys eroticism. Her soft, sensuous curves are quite attractive, even enticing. Eroticism stirs our desires.

What is often nice about erotic art is how the artist will meld many different images in one frame. Not only might we see the human figures in some sort of erotic context, but they are often surrounded by a natural beauty as well, the landscape, the overall scenery, a shadowy and mysterious world which adds a richness to the visual experience that is often lacking in baser forms of porn. At least for me, sensuality and eroticism are complete experiences and should be portrayed as such. Without some sort of background, without some sort of storyline to frame a work, the depiction of sex in different artistic genres risks losing a deeper sensuality that is often needed to enrich the erotic experience. As in real life, when seduction is flamed by the excitement of not knowing what the future holds, by the hint of what might happen in the future but what then again might not, or by not knowing but fully wondering what another person is like, and hoping discover those mysteries, the depiction of sex in artistic ways should capture something of the mystery and excitement of desired passion.  The cloud of unknowing needs to be part of the erotic experience.

Now, having shown a famous painting by a famous artist, an explicitly erotic painting, the question I ask is this: is this photo erotic, or is it porn?

A sleeping nude, as in Giorgione’s painting. Yet many would consider this porn.

I offer no answer, except my opinion. To me this photo, although a complete nude, tends more towards the artistic side than the porn side. Why? It is not too explicit, rather, it simply conveys the natural beauty of a woman, and does so in an erotic framework. There is a certain mystery and longing conveyed. There is a rich blend of colors in the background, as in the painting above, and the overall tone is one of softness and sensuality. It is the power of female sexuality, the same power symbolized by Venus, the Roman goddess of love, as depicted by Giorgione. Both figure are sleeping, both convey desire and sensuality, and yet one will get you fired from work if found on your computer. The other, if you owned it, would make you a millionaire. We live in a sexually schizophrenic society.

To me both are images of beauty, artistic, and worthy of the visual pleasure they provide. They are part of the overall beauty of life, the things we need to raise our base, everyday existence to levels beyond ourselves, to touch something of the mystery of erotic desires, the mystery we all naturally feel as sentient, sexual beings.

What is Porn and What is Erotica…

28 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by in art, beauty, erotica, Uncategorized

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I find this image quite erotic, but in a tasteful way.

I believe there is a difference between what some call “porn” and others call “erotica”. For me, erotica is of a higher aesthetic quality.  Without trying to offer a comprehensive definition–that would be more appropriate for a much longer blog post, and I like to keep my posts at a certain manageable length–I believe the aim of erotica, if there is an aim, is to somehow, in someway to depict and portray one of the basic elements of life, eros, or to put it more broadly, the dynamics of human sexuality, but in a way that possesses some sort of artistic and aesthetic merit. It is not merely depicting sexuality for the sake of arousal among the viewer, although arousal is certainly a possibility, and a possibility that is completely legitimate. Rather, erotica tries to capture something of the deeper, even spiritual elements of sexuality, in way that transcends the more primal elements of sexual engagement. It portrays sex, nudity, and sexual interaction in a way that is more meaningful for the viewer. It touches something more basic in the psyche than merely base desires. It leaves one with a better aftertaste in the mind, even if the loins are stirred.

I believe beauty is an essential element of good erotica. Porn too often caters to what is ugly, bizarre, or even disgusting. It appeals to little more than the most base elements of sexual desire, without any redeeming emotional or spiritual qualities at all. In porn, portrayals of people fucking are often little more than barnyard exhibitions of human animals, screaming and grunting and copulating with the grace and elegance of a bovine orgy, the actors often exhibiting as much fleshly artificiality as cows pumped up on growth hormones.

I enjoy good erotic depictions, even very explicit ones. I dislike porn. For instance, here of some of the elements of most porn, elements that I find rather distasteful.

Porn: Close up images of a woman spreading her labia for no other purpose than to turn on the overweight tow truck driver who is guzzling down his ninth Budweiser while he jerks off to such images in his trailer home.

Porn: Close up images of a woman’s gaping anus after she has been triple penetrated.

Porn: Ass to mouth. This is when a man fucks a woman in the ass, and then puts his penis in her mouth so she can, “taste her ass”. This is even too vile for me. I love playing with a woman’s ass, but this is just plain old unhealthy. Why would anyone in their right mind risk dysentery for this? Hepatitis is also a rather nasty condition, even potentially lethal. Intestinal infections are not fun.

Porn: Fake breasts, huge hair, tough looking women, fingernails longer than the a samurai sword, hyperbolic screaming, strung out looking people clearly disintegrating from chronic drug use.

Porn: Too many tatoos and piercings.

Porn: “Cream pie” finishes where the woman then squeezes the semen out of her vagina for the pleasure of the viewers. It is this technical, almost gynecological aspect of most porn, a porn devoid of any true sensuality, that I find completely uninteresting. It is clearly geared to turn on the great majority of such porn viewers: the fat, bald men who have never been with a woman.

Porn: Violent anal sex. Ripping apart someone’s anus and rectum with, most likely, irreparable damage is not appealing to me. A lot of woman enjoy the forbidden nature of anal pleasures when done properly, but I think most women would find this act highly unappealing.

These are just a few example. There are many more, but you get the point.

Now, what I find pleasant in erotica is the pursuit of a natural erotic beauty. Sex is portrayed as something hot, enticing, pleasurable, and mutually gratifying for the couple. The scenes are natural. They seem real. The couples are often beautiful. The women appear healthy, happy and sensual. There are few tatoos, piercings, fake breasts, long fingernails, big hair. The fucking can be hot and heavy and explicit, and I enjoy this, but the atmosphere is imbued with erotic passion, even love. It leaves the mind with a pleasant feeling, like you have savored a good meal, or a fine glass of wine. There is a certain grace, even lyricism to good erotica. It is also rare. You must search quite a bit, and wade through much trash, to find good erotica. It is almost like searching for a hidden treasure amid a wasteland of weeds and broken glass, or searching for fresh food in a dumpster. And again, in the end, there is element of beauty in erotica, an element of beauty which is lacking in porn. I suppose these are all ineffable qualities, and subjective judgements are in the end difficult to define, but I do believe there is a qualitative difference between these two types of mental sexual stimulates.

Many people, especially those of a religious bent, lump both porn and erotica together. If there is any nudity or sexuality depicted in a photograph, or work of art, or even writing, they reject it as being evil and unnatural and harmful. I suppose the preponderance of porn tends to obscure the quality of good erotica, since porn is so ubiquitous and erotica is harder to find, so most people do not understand the difference between the two. This an unfortunate barrier for the enjoyment of good erotica. It is out there, however, and I urge my readers to discover it, especially the female readers. Women should, and do, enjoy good erotica too, whether visual or in writing.

Finally, I would like to point to the image posted above. It has artistic merit. The placement of the figures, the use of shadows, the way the woman’s hair blends in with the dark background, the contrast of shadows with her white shirt and fair skin, the partial exposure of her pleasant looking ass beneath the curve of her back while her panties are being pulled down, appeals to the imagination, while at the same time appealing to what we see as well. We see this image, and we can think, or imagine more. So our minds are appealed to, as well as our bodies. It is hot, sexy, even beautiful, it is sensual and delightful and erotic in the fullest sense. I leave this image feeling good.

I will write more on these things, much more, but for now let me say that I enjoy erotic things. I like erotic nudes. I like explicit erotic depictions of sex. They are beautiful, and I like beautiful things.

The Sensuality of Catholicism

25 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by in art, beauty, religion, spirituality

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Madonna and Child by Botticelli, 1485. Even in his religious paintings, Botticelli enjoyed depicting beauty.

Most people would not consider Catholicism a religion of sensuality. But the problem is not with the idea of sensuality in itself, but what we mean by sensuality. For most people, sensuality is often exclusively connected with sexuality. And this is a valid connection. However, what I mean by sensuality here is not so much the sexuality associated, but rather the idea of something that appeals to the senses, to the five senses, touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. Catholicism is unparalleled among religions for best tapping into those five senses.

There is a physicality to Catholicism that has always appealed to me. It is a tactile religion. You go to confession, and confess your sins to another person, who is acting in persona Christi. You actually eat and drink the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. You bless yourself with holy water. You kneel and pray in different liturgical ways, using your body in an act of prayer. For Catholics, (as well as Orthodox) you exercise both your spirit and your body in liturgical worship.

I have always believed that Catholicism, despite the difficulties of some of its teachings on human sexuality, has always been much more in tune with the natural rhythms of life, and sexuality, than other religions. There is an earthiness to the Church’s teachings on these matters. The prohibition against contraception, however unpopular in today’s world, is basically an acknowledgment of the fundamental realities of life, that we cannot go on as race, society, culture or nations, without procreation. Sex cannot ultimately be separated from this fact without consequences. The current population implosion in Europe, and the dire consequences it portends, is a testament to an entire people turning away from the natural rhythms of sex and fertility. As others have pointed out, it was Catholicism that made marriage a sacrament, a holy thing, and lifted sexuality to a new level of meaning hitherto unheard of. Christianity sanctified married sex and turned it into something holy. Most happily married couples would probably concur about the sanctity of sex in such a context.

This understanding of human sexuality and the primacy of procreation is also a type of sensuality. It is natural. It is time honored. It is imbued with wisdom. The State cannot take care of us; in the end, it is only our blood, our family members, who truly care for us. I wonder what life will be like in a few decades when the aging, childless populations of the Western world are suddenly at the mercy of impartial, health care bureaucrats. They do not care at all for your well being; rather, the aged will be looked upon as financial burdens to be disposed of as quietly, quickly and cost efficiently as possible.

Catholic art, especially of the Renaissance variety, is filled with this sensuality. It is this link with the physical world that gives Catholic art its special sensuality. Great Catholic art is unabashed in its celebration of beauty. Even though the Madonna is a sacred image, she is always portrayed as beautiful on Catholic art. To the painters of the time, influenced by the growing neo-Platonism of the Renaissance, physical beauty was often a reflection of spiritual beauty. And why are there so many Holy Families, or Madonnas and Child? Is this not a type of celebration of an earthy fertility, the word made flesh? There is nothing more primal to sexuality than a mother and her child. It is, after all, what sex is ultimately about, procreation. The family, that most physical of social institutions, is the great focal point of much of Catholic art, as it was of the overall society at the time. It is an interested contrast to our own fragmented family lives today.

Madonna and Child by Raphael, ca.1500. I enjoy the quiet, pensive tone of this painting.

It was also the Catholic Church that patronized the very artists who returned Western art to a type of naturalness in form that had not been since the end of Classical antiquity. And yet many of these artist who produced great Catholic works of art, also produced art that was controversial, such as Botticelli or Michelangelo. Some of these works were considered at the time, and for many centuries afterwards, and even today in some quarters, pornographic. Why? Because they depicted the beauty of the human body. They painted nudes. And as we know from our own cultural schizophrenic reaction to nudity, this is still a difficult subject for most people to handle, even in art.

So I enjoy this aspect of Catholicism, at least the type of Catholicism that is not tainted by the neo-Jansenist, puritanical strain that often affects North American Catholicism. It is a physical, earthy type of Catholicism, yet one that is still rooted in the spiritual truths of the faith. It is, at least as art and liturgy are concerned, a celebration of beauty for the sake of beauty, and a beauty that ultimately derives spiritually from God.

Beauty…

23 Tuesday Aug 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

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I want this blog to focus more and more on beauty, beauty itself, the idea of beauty, the different types of beauty. Aesthetic concerns are something I enjoy, especially writing about them.

Of course erotic beauty is always paramount in my mind. So once again, especially since I do not have a lot of time to post tonight, I feel the need to post a photo of beautiful women. I consider such photos to have at least some, if not a lot, of artistic merit.

God I love beautiful women…truly they are a gift from God!

What is Beauty…

19 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by in art, beauty, erotica, Uncategorized, women

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Alluring…

I often wonder what is the nature of beauty? Why is that some people have a deep need for beauty in their lives, and others don’t? Or to put it more simply, what is beauty? I really can’t answer that, except to speak for myself. For my entire life I have felt a deep draw towards beautiful things. I remember even as a child feeling the power of female beauty, the allure of loveliness, the power of love. When I finally became a young adult, I felt those things even more. As I grew into a man the force became even more and more powerful. No longer just an observer, as I was when an adolescent, I could now participate in the erotic pleasures of beauty with beautiful women. Once having tasted this elixir, I was addicted for life. And as I said in a previous post, what a sweet addiction it is.

There is so much ugliness in the world right now. Perhaps there has always been. There always will be. Still, amid all this ugliness, it is important to seek out the beautiful. I feel a need to write about beauty amid the ugliness of our times. For me, at the moment, this is pretty much physical beauty, not only the feminine, but the beauty found in art, nature, architecture. I would put music and literature in that category, but those a bit more abstract.

And yet for me there is also the spiritual nature of beauty. When I pray, I feel a peace and joy and comfort that is hard to describe. Perhaps this comes from a communion with God. There is a certain kind of beauty and pleasure in spiritual joy. For me the two are infinitely linked, beauty and God. If I believe in God, which I do, then I believe also that all beauty ultimately comes from God, that God created beauty and also gave us the capacity to appreciate and even enjoy beauty in all its various forms. This is why I like the Renaissance type of Catholicism: it recognized and celebrated the beauty of God’s creation, even the erotic nature of beauty.

For me the female body is a thing of beauty, a work of art crafted by the hand of God. For most men, nothing on this earth is as powerfully alluring as a beautiful woman. For me, only the power of divine joy and beauty is greater. And this is where I find a deep difference between porn and erotica. Porn tends to be cheaper and baser, lacking artistic merit, whereas erotica tends to be of a higher quality, possessing artistic merit, and of deeper meaning. I hope the photos I post on here are of the second quality. And as I have stated before, throughout history many artists have created works which at the time were criticized or censured as being pornographic, but later on were recognized as great works of artistic merit. I feel the same way about many well done female nudes. They capture the eroticism of life, but they do so in an artistic way. I came across a porn site recently called X-Art: http://x-art.com/  I find it one of the best sites out there doing explicit porn, or better yet, erotica. The girls are natural, the setting natural, the lighting and atmosphere delicate, yet charged and highly sexual. I am not sure if I would classify this as art, others might, but it is certainly one of the more beautiful depictions of explicit eroticism I have found.

And for me art and beauty and eroticism will always be intricately linked.

Daily Dose of Female Beauty

17 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in beauty, erotica, women

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More loveliness...

What is beauty and why is it so intoxicating? It is hard to describe. But I hunger for beauty daily, as much as I hunger for food. And perhaps the most delightful type of beauty, at least for me, is female beauty. This alluring combination of sexual, erotic and aesthetic is indeed a powerful one.

I don’t have much time to write tonight, but I just wanted to post a bit more on beauty. Lots of beauty! I love to be surrounded by this.

There is more to the world than simply erotic beauty, but I love erotic beauty the most. Amen!

I Love Feminine Beauty!

15 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

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I thank the heavens every day for beautiful women...

As I want this blog to become more and more a celebration of beauty, I feel the need to display on a regular basis images of beauty, especially erotic beauty.

I love beautiful women. I love seeing them. I love sharing erotic pleasures with them. I love everything about them. I am completely addicted to feminine beauty. It is such a sweet addiction!

So this is my daily dose of erotic, feminine beauty. Enjoy!

The Love of Beauty

08 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in beauty, spirituality

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Enticing, alluring and absolutely lovely...

What is life without beauty? I think we can find spiritual and other types of nourishment through beautiful things.

There other morning I was at the gym and once again I came across one of my favorite items: a hot girl dressed in a hot way. This particular girl was wearing a pair of black shorts and a sort of pink sports bra top–I am not sure what you would call it– but she looked hot nevertheless. What was especially delightful to see were her nipples clearly hard through the fabric of her top. Her body was smooth, creamy white and lithe. With her brunette hair pulled back in ponytail beneath a baseball cap, she had a down to earth, all natural look, and yet beneath this look was clearly a sexual creature. She must have known how alluring she was to all the men that morning. It was hard not to keep my eyes off her, but I did the best I could. I love coming across such unexpected sights of beauty.

I will freely admit his was an instance of lust. Pure and simple. She was hot, and I wanted her sexually. And I felt she was advertising to the entire gym that morning her hotness. She is probably one of those girls who enjoys taking photos of herself and posting them online. I certainly hope she is.  I have no problem with a girl showing her lovely body off; I welcome it.

What makes beauty so special is that it is not all that common. This is why beauty is so intoxicating when we come across it. Nor is beauty merely the province of the physical, no, beauty can be contained in many things, such as within music, or even in purely abstract intellectual ways. I once heard a mathematician say how he found a certain type of beauty in a perfectly form math theorem.

I like to celebrate beauty, not only physical beauty, but spiritual beauty too, and the beauty that is found in art, music, and literature. I still cannot get the quote from the post below out of my mind, “God is beautiful and loves beauty”. Even though I am not a Muslim, I find this one of the most powerful expressions of spiritual beauty I have ever heard. Hey, I will do my part for international, interfaith dialogue to continue to proclaim this thought from Mohammed. I am still trying to think of a similar sentiment from a great Christian writer or thinker. I am sure something similar is out there, but I have yet to find it. Any help on this would be appreciated.

So I think I would like this blog to focus more and more on the beautiful, in all its different aspects, whether erotic beauty, spiritual beauty, physical beauty, artistic beauty or whatever kind of beauty I may come across. Even love is certain type of beauty. This reminds me of a passage I came across recently from St. Paul, Ephesians, 4:5: “Follow the way of love, as Christ loved you”. Again, there is something deeply beautiful about this statement.

So others can deal with the more depressing aspects of politics and culture; I want to focus on the good. In today’s world I think we need this.

And of course I cannot resist posting delightful images of delightfully beautiful female beauties, such as the one above.

Sophie Marceau, A Lovely French Beauty

06 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in beauty, women

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I first came across this French beauty in Braveheart. Since then, I have not seen her in any other films, as I assume her career has mostly consisted of French films.

The French have always had a good sense of style and aesthetics, much more so than the Anglo or Germanic world. There is a reason why Paris is the capitol of world fashion.

I find this image of her quite lovely…she has beautiful features, soft and feminine and alluring, an exquisite beauty.