Smut vs. Art

Tonight I am terribly excited to visit the Basquiat Collection at MOCA in downtown L.A. I’ve been a fan of Basquiat's art for years, saw the movie about him, and bought the book of his art used to tell a tale about fear, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, with Maya Angelou.

It got me thinking about the whole smut vs. art dialogue. Now, Basquiat’s art wasn’t considered smutty, but it was considered street art and was heavily influenced by graffiti artists of the Big Apple. Luckily for Basquiat, he did get to experience some recognition in his lifetime. That’s not usually the case for brave, edgy artists.

A long ago artist I adore who was certainly smutty was the master of pen and ink, Aubrey Beardsley. I love the crazy, out-of-proportion phalluses on the foppish men and the shrewish society women caught in compromised positions.

It brings to mind the horrific 2257 law that is attempting to limit a lot of "smut" on the internet. My question is, what artist/photographer is being limited by this passive-aggressive law?

Who are your favorite smut artists? Or do you believe there is such a thing?