I am imagining something similar to the exhibition I saw at the Guggenheim gallery in New York, which I was lucky enough to go and see at the beginning of the year. I actually believe the exhibit has now finished so I was very fortunate. The exhibit features photos by Robert Mapplethorpe, installed as a response to his book, The Black Book, comprising of 91 offset prints and 78 accompanying texts. It includes text from diverse sources from philosophers to curators some written specifically in response to Mapplethorpe himself.
Visually the exhibition is mesmerizing, each individual photo is extremely beautiful. One of my favorite images is located below, top row second from the right. I particularly like how he has played with shape and also masculinity with this coming through to me with the use of the flower. The flower is often a symbol of femininity, colour and beauty. Here it is used almost to juxtapose this, the power of the black and white image is not taking away the beauty of the flower just presenting it differently, it adds a soft element to what could be seen as a strong male image, shirtless muscular man.
“…My whole point is to transcend the subject. …Go beyond the subject somehow, so that the composition, the lighting, all around, reaches a certain point of perfection. That’s what I’m doing. Whether it’s a cock or a flower, I’m looking at it in the same way. …in my own way, with my own eyes.” – Robert Mapplethorpe
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