four chambers – Acetylene Eyes

fourchambers:

“Eaten or rotten I am all mouth”

+ moth and rust

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Marxism holds that changes happens via a process called dialectical materialism–wherein a market, a concept or a phase of evolution (the thesis) clashes with an opposing force (antithesis) to create something new from parts of both (synthesis).

It’s an appealing framework as it divides everything in the world into opposing factions, this vs. that, either/or. (Bakunin was effectively a century ahead of his time, in recognizing the missteps in Lenin’s implementation of Marx’s ideas.)

A truly ridiculous number of things lend themselves to fitting this form: the scientific process, three act narrative structure, how everyone is taught to format an academic essay in fifth grade…

I’ve always thought that if one could introduce a third factor (a wild card) that one might be able to salvage the framework–or at least get it to chart more usable results.

As someone who knows a bit about work being made on the fringes or art and pornography, there’s a very dialectical approach to things. On one side, there’s folks attempting to make more inclusive, realistic and or contemplative pornography (thesis=pornography, Antithesis=subverting problematic porn tropes); on the other, there are efforts to apply rigorous technical acumen to the production of pornography in an effort to increase the quality of the work (thesis=pornography; antithesis=superior production value).

Four Chambers doesn’t fit comfortably in either cubbyhole. Yes, they are definitely subverting problematic porn tropes. Yes, they continue to release material that is of the highest quality w/r/t production values. But, it feels more like they view pornography as another potential subject for consideration under the aegis of artistic practice.

If you’ve followed this project for any time, you know I agree with this notion wholeheartedly.

Now–full disclosure–I’ve yet to watch one of their complete scenes, only promo clips and materials they’ve released. But that in itself is instructive. Whether you’re challenging porn conventions or working to achieve higher quality material, both processes are undertaken in service of a final, ostensibly marketable product.

I won’t say Four Chambers’ work is made with no regard for the final product–that would be foolish and absurd. However, the product is not only intrinsically tied into the process–their promo materials are always so assiduously assembled. I mean they could just as easily throw an edit together and then release that trailer into the wild. They don’t do that, however. They take their time, adhere to a cohesive aesthetic/visual styling reavealing as much as concealing–building interest, but also trusting the interest commitment to their process allows them. Further, the profits from the product go back into making more and better content. In other words, it’s not about stacking Heisenberg levels of cash in a storage unit, it’s about continuing to pursue the process so that it can refine over time and evolve. (And what does that smack of, except the artists obsession with perfect?)

Consider these two oracle gifs and this gif from a scene in their recent release entitled recursion.

Honestly, though it’s their print materials like the above that really knock my socks off.

Also, bonus tidbit: the title of the above images is a line from a Sylvia Plath poem Who.

Source: fourchambers

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I am gross and I love putting my fingers in things they don’t belong and I dooooon’t careeeeeee

Awhile back one of my followers advised me that Duke University was attempting to start a Porn Studies PhD program.

I flipped my shit a lil. I mean what I’m attempting with this blog is a less formally academnified version of exactly that premise. And as much as I feel alienated from academia these days–there is a part of me that knows that if nothing else I function exceedingly well in that framework.

I looked into it and turns out the information was only about 10% true. A professor of Film Studies and Rhetoric at UC-Berkley named Linda Williams published a book called Porn Studies through Duke University’s press in 2004.

But Williams’ notions are absolutely fascinating. Via Wikipedia:

[S]he argues that horror, melodrama, and pornography all fall into the
category of “body genres”, since they are each designed to elicit
physical reactions on the part of viewers. Horror is designed to elicit
spine-chilling, white-knuckled, eye-bulging terror (often through images
of blood); melodramas are designed to elicit sympathy (often through
images of tears); and pornography is designed to elicit sexual arousal
(often through images of “money shots”).

Two things about this relate directly to what Vex and Four Chambers do and do with beauty:

So-called “body genres” tend to be relegated to a default subset I’d term not-art. (Alien would be an exception but note that it’s first a sci-film and only secondly a horror piece; and so the skillful genre fusion allows critics to sidestep the horror isn’t art prejudice.)

The work being made by Four Chambers isn’t just of an exceedingly high production value, I would argue that it’s capital-A Art.

And as much as I’d like that argument to take a form similar to the Buddhist monk who when tasked with passing wisdom to those gathered to hear him speak, merely held up a lotus leaf for all to contemplate–in other words, I’d just point to this image and say: duh, of course this is Art; there is something else that applies.

The fantasy that the majority of porn sells is centered on cishet white male pleasure. It’s formulaic and sterile–the only mess pertains to the money shot.

But, in reality, sex–at least when you’re doing it right–is hell of messy. I swear there’s a dissertation for a Porn Studies PhD just waiting to be composed about how Four Champers represents sexuality as messy and rich with fluids. (Literally pick one of their videos at random and you’ll see what I mean. The one I happen to have handy is this image that I was going to save for a future post.)

You can call it gross or more honest or both even but whichever way you cut it, there is a subversive push to decentralize the fluid mess of sex from cishet white male pleasure. Not only is that hot as fuck, its importance and absolutely vital.

Source: fourchambers