The Art of Porn: Al Tom and his Skin City project in Part 2 of our interview

When you ask most people what they consider art, porn is usually not at the top of the list or even on the list, oftentimes because they find porn morally objectionable. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the human body is a beautiful thing which has been celebrated in all forms of art since the beginning of time, and porn is just another way of showcasing that beauty. In the past twenty years, thanks in large part to the efforts of Steven Grooby, founder of Grooby Productions, transgender porn has become more popular and has helped expose more people to the beauty of the transgender body. And make no mistake about it, transgender people are every bit as beautiful as cis-women and men. In fact, it’s my feeling that there is an extra depth to that beauty given the journey we’ve had to go through to reach the point where we can be ourselves. There is a certain beauty born through adversity and the strength that results from overcoming those challenges. For many of us it’s our new-found self-confidence and simply being happy that shows through so clearly in our pictures.

But the bottom line is that the adult entertainment industry is a business and needs to be profitable, so there has to be a balance between creativity and marketability. As Steven Grooby explains, “Our job is to provide sexual titillation and raise excitement in the viewers but every viewer has a different perspective which is completely subjective. One individual may be turned on by the high art look of MetArt while another gets visually stimulated by amateur shot porn. It would be very difficult to shoot what we do, and try and keep it only what one may call, ‘artistic’ there just isn’t the amount of people there willing to pay for this in a paysite or DVD model. Most producers including ours try to get a balance. A number of shots which showcase their creative skills and promote the model in a more artistic setting before moving into the standard ‘crowd pleasers’ which we need to placate those who are paying for us to do this, the members and fans.”

Thanks to the efforts of the many talented photographers, models, and producers involved in creating porn, the creative process continues to move forward and new innovations and artistic visions arise. And it is that idea, the Art of Porn, which will be featured in upcoming columns on Through The Benz. I want to showcase not only the beauty of the art but also the creative process. And to kick off this new Art of Porn series, we’re going to feature Al Tom of Altomic Visuals. Recently we’ve been getting glimpses of his new Skin City project, and the images we’ve seen so far have created a lot of buzz on social media and among the modeling community.

Welcome back Al, and thanks again for doing this interview! Do you consider porn as a form of art?

Absolutely! Art is all around us. Thirty second television ads are some of the most creative art forms out there as far as trying to get their point across. Look at all the pop-ups we get on out computers trying to get us to click on them. That’s all art. Anything someone creates, that’s all art to me. Porn is no different. It’s all created by someone or a group of people who gave some thought of how to put it together so others can enjoy it or use it.

You mentioned that Skin City was sort of an experiment about how you’d like to see adult content. Could you tell us about what you like and what your vision is for how you’d like to see porn?

Adult content as it is right now works. I mean it’s tough to make money in the adult world and the way things are done right now works. There are a lot of really good photographers, videographers, actors and producers. They’re artist themselves and they all have their own vision of how to make adult content, and that’s a good thing. So that’s what I mean when I say I have my own way of how I’d like to see adult content.

Without giving away my untested ideas I’d like to just have fun with how the scene is captured and assembled. Which is why I talk about doing some dry runs and getting feedback. I like to experiment with my photography and video so this is the process I’m in right now. I mean it could be a total disaster, but it’s exciting to me because, what if it works.

What is the inspiration behind your Skin City series?

It’s obviously a take on Sin City the movie. That whole movie is a work of art to me. It just recharged my batteries to make some art myself. Plus I really liked the “look” of the movie.

You’ve worked with a lot of big-name models for the Skin City shoots such as Chelsea Marie, Holly Parker, Brooke Zanell, and Michelle Austin. Have you had a lot of interest from models wanting to be involved with this project?

Now that the Skin City shoots are slowly coming out I do have some interest from other models. Both in the adult industry and outside the industry. So I’m happy it’s getting some good reaction from people.

Where would you like to see this project go? Would you like to create it for use on other sites, or perhaps have your own site?

No I’m not even thinking about having my own site. I’m already horrible at updating my own personal photo site let alone my Facebook page. I wouldn’t mind doing things for other peoples sites though. That’s really where I think I’d like to go, at least for now.

You tend to use black and white shots more than a lot of photographers. Can you tell us what it is about black and white photos that you like?

Black and white just gives me a little more to think about. Depending on the picture it can be more calming, more mysterious or more erotic. Without the color information I think it makes you think about what you’re looking at just a little more.

On the other hand, I’m trying some new color techniques. They’re not new to photography or film. Just new to me. So I’m excited to see where that takes me.

Thank you again for the interview Al, and I can’t wait to see what the future hold for Skin City!

If you would like more information on Al Tom or Altomic Visuals please visit:

Altomic Visuals

Twitter.com/Altomicvisuals

Facebook.com/al.tom.334