We arrived in Venice in October, 1991, & there were banners all over this amazing city for a retrospect of the American artist’s work.The exhibit was held at the Fortuney museum, fabulous in itself. How odd to consider this important gay American artist in another city, & another world, & really kind of perfect. Mapplethorpe’s work deserves a place with the great classic works of art. It was, at the time, the largest retrospect of his work at that time.
This summer I spent time with the very readable- Just Kids, a memoir of the artist/musician/ writer’s friendship, romance & time spent with the remarkable Robert Mapplethorpe. Patti Smith, along with her friend Mapplethorpe, lived a particular New York dream: the Chelsea Hotel, Max’s Kansas City, CBGB, superstardom, to the fullest. I have posted so many times on my love of 20th century photography, & this man’s work & life still hold my full attention.
Ranging from graphic depictions of gay sex to portraits of flowers, Robert Mapplethorpe was all over the artistic map. His work is magnificent in its scope, frequently shocking, & ultimately very beautiful. The more extreme photographs have a tenderness to them, & the seemingly harmless photos generate an edginess that's hard to shake. Simultaneously devoted to a strict sense of formalism & composition & to forging a new iconography of homosexuality, it's easy to see why Mapplethorpe provoked so much controversy in his time.
Robert Mapplethorpe has become the essential “gay photographer.” His homoerotic photographs still disturb, but he made no concessions to the closeted: his work is not sneaky or abashed. He spreads a seductive & provocative version of his style throughout the world & the fashion world bounced his message back to the mainstream. His death from AIDS, in 1989, at the age of 42, gives his short life a special symbolic aura. His iconic position strongly influences how we see his photographs: he is both overrated & underrated. I feel that Mapplethorpe needs to be noted in history as Mapplethorpe- the artist, not just a gay artist, & to be placed in the great tradition of classical art.
The art world, & public funding for the arts in America, is completely different because of his work. His work has been accused of being obscene. So what? Mapplethorpe made & porn the same thing. That is his greatest contribution to American artistry. For me, the most erotic material he produced was his photographs of the sex organs of flowers. That work is startling. You can now google the word "Mapplethorpe" & view of the photographs that caused conservative activists who knew nothing about art, but knew what was moral, to successfully end public funding for the arts. The controversy seems overblown now, but a good look at Mapplethorpe's pictures is enough to verify that he is still cutting edge & still original.
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