The majority of modern pornography is not art, and by...

The majority of modern pornography is not art, and by using a selective definition of Leo Tolstoy’s version of art, and John Dewey’s theory of art as experience, we can determine that pornography is nothing more than shallow entertainment that exacerbates social inequalities of society’s gender roles. Despite this, pornography has the potential to become art, and should therefore not be censored. It is important to define pornography, as well as Tolstoy and Dewey’s definitions of art, in order to set the groundwork for my argument. To begin, in this paper, the term â€Å"pornography† refers to anything that, â€Å"is sexually explicit material that is primarily designed to produce sexual arousal in viewers.† Furthermore, pornography comes in a†¦show more content†¦John Dewey’s definition of art is different from Tolstoy’s in that Dewey believed in the importance of experience as art, and using one’s imagination and expression to contribute to that experience. When we encounter true art, â€Å"we are not concerned with the connection of one incident with what went before and what comes after. There is no interest that controls attentive rejection or selection of what shall be organized into the developing experience.† Dewey thought that experience has external factors that changed and also lead through a beginning and end. Imagination must also be used while one engages art and it is defined as â€Å"the capacity to work a vague idea and emotion over into terms of some definite medium.† Both artist and audience must consciously activate the imagination when observing art. To activate one’s imagination is to bring forth a past experience from one’s mind, and reflect on its relevancy. Dewey further believes in the importance of the role of expression when creating art. By definition expression is, â€Å"the clarification of turbid emotions; our appetites know t hemselves when they are reflected in the mirror of art, and as they know themselves are transfigured.† Expression is essentially a hybrid of revised emotion combined with a past experience. When one successfully creates this hybrid, expression is created and the emotion becomes, â€Å"independent of the artist’s expressing something through an object.†