The Art of Restraint through my Android’s simulated voyeurcam

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Last saturday I had the opportunity to attend this season’s Art of Restraint at feminist art gallery Femina Potens, where the theme was gratitude. For those of you outside the US, that was a nod at Thanksgiving, our contrived holiday about giving thanks for a mythological event having to do with pilgrims and Native Americans that more likely turned out like this scene from Addam’s Family Values than Hallmark would have you think. But for those of us sans family and other cultural outsiders, it’s a day where we seek our intentional family and ponder what we’re really thankful about.

Anyway, my dear dear friend Steve Diet Goedde was in town, so I dragged him to the private event. For a minute, young queer bondage performance artist FiveStar had a live UStream going of the (non-sexual) demonstration she was giving, but Ustream kicked her off when it started to get attention. Which brings me to wonder, why, if there is no FCC to hold us back from showing simple and natural human nudity on the Internet, why we are stuck with prudish entities like Ustream. That’s not why people like me were the first podcasters, know what I mean? That subject is a different post. Or maybe a startup I’ll make millions off of, I’m not sure which.

FlickrDroid Upload

I had a press pass for the event, but decided to do something different than take typical event photos. I used the (free) FX Camera application for my new Android phone, Samsung Moment (LOVE it), and using the ToyCam effect, I put a simulated cross-process emulator on the camera and chose the simulated pinhole effect in the application to frame the shots. The result was like looking through a keyhole, and very old-timey — and tasteful. It was the perfect voyeuristic medium; even moreso when I randomly live-uploaded mysterious shots to my Twitter stream and Flickr. I’m now really in love with the idea of making advanced tech look like degraded media of yore.

The whole Flickr set, all of the images, is here. There is nothing sexually explicit but you will need to be signed in and have SafeSearch turned off. Otherwise, enjoy my favorites after the jump — and for more ‘real’ looking images, look at Femina Potens photographers’ set of the event.

FlickrDroid Upload

Featured: Madison Young, Lochai, Mistress Tina, Mistress Holly, JD (Two Knotty Boys), others.

FlickrDroid Upload

FlickrDroid Upload

FlickrDroid Upload

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FlickrDroid Upload

FlickrDroid Upload

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One Comment - COMMENTARY is DESIRED

  1. There isn’t any government institution preventing Ustream from hosting FiveStar’s demo, or outright porn for that matter. But as a lover of the free market I feel obliged to point out that a private firm has every right to choose the data it hosts — especially considering they are providing the service gratis.

    Cable TV (or for that matter broadcast TV between 2200 and 0600) is not subject to FCC regulations either, but in order to maintain a healthy stream of advertising revenue they (prudently — at least in the states) blur the naughty bits. I doubt that the webmaster is responsible is the prude — far more likely the video was pulled for fear of fiscal repercussions.

    The flip side of that, is that there is good money to be made in opening up a streaming website that appeals to the prurient. Some advertisers may be scared off, but certainly not all of them — fleshbot and the myriad *tube sites certainly aren’t flagging.

    —————————-

    From their TOS:
    6. “you agree that you will not do any of the following”:
    6.6 “Upload, stream, email, or otherwise transmit, via the Site or Services, any User Submissions that… contain nudity (including without limitation any pornography, erotica, child pornography or child erotica)”

    2.b. “Ustream.tv may… remove any material (including User Submissions) from the Site or our servers, in the event that you breach these Terms of Service.

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