Today I drank a potion and fell down a pornographic internet conceptual art hole. I found some strange stuff with pigs and people humping on walls (which I dutifully sent to friends who were at work), and I also found some really interesting and provocative art. My favorite of the day is the work of Rosario Gallardo. She is based in Milan, Italy and together with her husband of 13 years, makes moody and quite thought-provoking porn art. She makes photo sets and films. I especially liked her cam girl film (my fave), and the intense short film where she masturbates – and orgasms – on a public bus in 60 seconds.
Gallardo, the daughter of two psychotherapists, is a great example of the spectrum and variety to be found of women making porn around the world right now. When anti-porn people talk about porn, or anyone tries to categorically state what porn is or is not, or uses phrases like “all porn” – it’s women like Gallardo that, somewhere in my mind, raise their hands and demand their turn to speak.
Rosario Gallardo blogs at Porno Guerrilla, though it is in Italian – I let Chrome translate it for me. Her explicit Polaroids are at Pornoroids. She has this account on Twitter. There’s a great interview with her at Teorificios, which is also in Italian – but even translated, I resonated with this segment:
What kind of feedback you receive? How do people react to your work?
It does not leave anybody indifferent. Some people will still enthusiastic and who criticizes me a lot, sometimes even with a grudge. It ‘s the beauty of having something to say. It ‘s a work in itself full of meaning, something stirs in all, not only desire, but also feelings, ideas, fantasies, fears and deep grudges, things that go far beyond me. My work is a gateway to a world beyond, and that affects everyone, because they give voice and dignity of expression to a macro that existential sphere with improbable claims systematically try to conceal. Opens people’s hearts and is like a Pandora’s box, it can get out of everything!
Matthew, glad you liked it. I thought the bus video was really hot too. I’ve found amateur videos like that on pornotube before, pretty riveting stuff.
What a great find, thanks :) Unfortunately (although I might argue fortunately) I’m not nearly analytical enough to get into the is-it-art-or-porn side of things, but I did find the bus video more than a little arousing. I guess all porn is voyeuristic by nature, but that sort of illicitness is pretty exciting…