![\"ColbyDoesAmerica\"](\"http:\/\/www.queermenow.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ColbyDoesAmerica.jpg\")
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Last month I reported that porn star Colby Keller<\/a> has launched a fundraising campaign on the IndieGoGo “Big Shoe Adventure #1: Colby Does American (And Canada Too!)<\/a>” His plan is basically making art\/porn in every state. It has raised $32,109<\/a> so far with 5 days left!<\/p>\n I would like you to read this interesting interview by H. Alan Scott, originally published on Thought Catalog<\/a>. “#ColbyDoesAmerica: What Gay Porn Star Colby Keller Is Doing To Change The Art World.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is art? Like really, in this day and age, how do we perceive art and artists? Frankly, how the hell do we find it? Sex, being the primary focus of every major current media platform, has always been a powerful tool in art, so is that the new form of modern art, or is it just exploitation? Can art define our outlook on a particular issue or mood (I explored this theme in a previous piece about James Turrell<\/a>)? If art is reactionary, and sex certainly causes a reaction, then is porn the most widely spread form of expressionism art in our modern world?<\/p>\n These are all questions that artist and porn star Colby Keller has personified throughout his career. Now with #ColbyDoesAmerica<\/a>, Keller is taking his years blending these two forms of artistic expression into one, asking the question: can porn be art?<\/p>\n \u201cI started in porn to feed myself,\u201d Keller told me recently<\/a>. Prior to porn, he had worked a series of low-paying jobs. As these jobs often do, they worked Keller hard, for little pay and with zero benefits (even though they were large corporate companies).<\/p>\n \u201cMy body was more exploited by these jobs than anything I\u2019ve ever done in porn,\u201d Keller said.<\/p>\n Eventually porn became a means to support himself while he worked on his art. Over time the two started mixing, resulting in Keller becoming one of porns most well known artists (and some drawing comparisons to Marina Ambramovic<\/a>).<\/p>\n As is often the case with art, a very real life moment became the inspiration for a project that will likely introduce Keller as one of America\u2019s next big modern provocative artists.<\/p>\n \u201cI got kicked out of my place,\u201d Keller said. He had been living in Baltimore ever since college. Over the 10 years he had lived in the apartment, he turned it into his studio space. Facing the reality of not having anything to do with his stuff, he was at a crossroads.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought about selling it,\u201d he said, \u201cbut what does that do? It reinforces this commerce driven society we\u2019ve become.\u201d Instead he decided to give it all away, like literally, everything. \u201cThe deal was you had to come to my place, choose what you wanted, then sign a document stating that this is an artistic expression, and take a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n As it turned out, people had a hard time grasping the idea of someone giving their stuff away for free.<\/p>\n \u201cI literally had to keep telling people, \u2018No, just sign this, take a picture, and it\u2019s yours\u2026\u2019 There\u2019s this sense of being in debt to someone for a gesture like this, I get it, but it really is just art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Giving everything away didn\u2019t come without controversy.<\/p>\n \u201cSome thought that I was committing suicide, which could not be further from the truth,\u201d he said. The most controversial thing he gave away was his Instagram account.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reaction to the Instagram account<\/a> was the most shocking,\u201d he said. He gave it away to his friend and fellow artist, Deena Jones. As soon as she started posting pics, followers began using racist and misogynistic language in the comments, calling Jones (an African American woman) a, \u201cBlack Widow.\u201d The harassment became too much, and eventually she ceased posting pictures. (She now uses @IAmDolbyKeller<\/a>, which you should follow and call her beautiful.)<\/p>\n Free of possessions, Keller was able to hit the road and start his big new project, #ColbyDoesAmerica<\/a>. Currently an Indiegogo campaign, Keller is raising money to travel the country and create films, images, pieces of art with fans and artists everywhere.<\/p>\n \u201cThis might just be porn, but might not,\u201d says Keller. His goal is to create a new project in every state, using local talent and collaborating with people across the country. The models that agree to perform, sexually or otherwise, will be regular folks, local, not necessarily professional models.<\/p>\n \u201cArt is made between people, the space between people,\u201d he said. \u201cI need other people to help realize this project\u2026. It\u2019s hard, there\u2019s a lot of room for failure here, for people to laugh at you. It\u2019s ridiculous, but it\u2019s that ridiculousness that makes it compelling and uncomfortable. These are great tools to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if this is just porn or something really great artistically, and I won\u2019t know until we do it. Which is why we need to do it, it\u2019s why any art needs to be created, to explore ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Access to art isn\u2019t easy, and it certainly isn\u2019t easy to be a working artist. Which is why it\u2019s important to recognize and support a talented artist that\u2019s creating engaging work.<\/p>\n What is art? Everything is art.<\/p>\n Click here to learn more about #ColbyDoesAmerica<\/a>. <\/p>\n