Robert
Mapplethorpe 1946-1989: Robert
Mapplethorpe was born the third of six children in Nation’s
First Criminal Trial of an Art Museum Over
Content of an Exhibition: Indictment: Place:
Dates
of Trial: September
24-October 5, 1990 Judge: David
J. Albanese Jury: Four
men and four women Verdict: Not guilty Significance: The
acquittal of the Mapplethorpe defendants was a
major reaffirmation of First Amendment freedom of speech protection in
the new
realm of homosexual art. It also
reaffirmed the obscenity principles of Miller
v. Dates
of Importance: 1965-
President
Johnson signs into law the National Foundation on the Arts and
Humanities Act
of 1965. The National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) is created. 1965-1988-
The
NEA begins with a budget of $2.4 million and ends up exceeding $167
million. June
1989-
The Washington Project for the Arts announces its plans to show
Mapplethorpe’s, The Perfect Moment. More
than 100 members of Congress
criticize the NEA for supporting Mapplethorpe’s works.
July
1989- Senator
Jessie Helms (R.-N.C.) proposes an amendment to an Interior Department
bill
that would prohibit the NEA from using funds for the “dissemination,
promotion,
or production of obscene or indecent materials or materials denigrating
a
particular religion. The amendment does
not pass. Congress does reach a compromise on the NEA’s 1990
Appropriations
Bill containing restrictions affecting NEA grant making procedures. April
1990- The
Perfect Moment opens to the
public in The Perfect Moment: In the spring
of 1990, the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in Of the 175
pictures in the
exhibit, 7 were extremely controversial making them the focus of the
ensuring
trial. Two of the pictures were of naked
minors, one male and one female, with a “lewd exhibition or graphic
focus on
the genitals.” The other five
objectionable
pictures were of five men posing in unusual sadomasochistic poses. http://law.jrank.org/pages/3469/Mapplethorpe-Obscenity-Trial-1990.html His
Work:
Mapplethorpe received a B.F.A. from Pratt
Institute in Mapplethorpe’s
favorite human
subjects were himself and his close friend, poet and singer, Patti
Smith. His portraits of Smith capture his
subject as
lonely, independent, sensitive and wild. Andy Warhol, Richard Gere and
Grace
Jones were also among some of his famous subjects. He
also expressed his art via pictures of
composers, socialites, pornographic film stars and members of the S
& M
underground. Mapplethorpe’s art was explicit in nature often depicting
sexual
organs and bondage equipment with his subjects being adorned in
leather,
spikes, and chains. http://www.mapplethorpe.org/biography.html Influence
Behind Mapplethorpe’s Work: Raised
in a strict Catholic family, Mapplethorpe was
influenced by the rigidity of his religion. His
cross imagery and its accompanying symmetry is a
recurring theme in
his works. He was very conscious of the
religious undertones in his pieces and once was quoted in an interview
as
saying, “I was a Catholic boy, I went to church every Sunday. A church has a certain magic and mystery for
a child. It still shows in how I arrange
things. It’s always little altars.” Mapplethorpe’s
rigidity and
symmetry carries over into his nudes. “Thomas” depicts a muscular black
man
enclosed within a circular barrier with arms stretched 180 degrees to
push
against his cage. This work is a vivid
example
of rigidity and symmetry that Mapplethorpe so often captured. http://tech.mit.edu/V110/N31/mapple.31a.html
Robert Mapplethorpe, Self Portrait 1978 The collector Sam Wagstaff, left, and the photographer and Robert Mapplethorpe in a 1974 portrait by Francesco Scavullo It
has been
suggested that
Sam Wagstaff, a legendary figure in the international art world of the
1970’s
and 80’s is the man who made Mapplethorpe into the icon that he would
become. Wagstaff was one of the first
private art collector’s to start buying photographs as early as 1973,
long
before there was a serious market for Mapplethorpe. Mr.
Wagstaff affectionately called
Mapplethorpe “my sly little pornographer.”
http://www.arthousefilmsonline.com/press/files/press/bwg_nytimes.pdf Further
Cembalest,
Robin. "Who Does it Shock? Why Does it Shock?" Artnews
(March 1992): 32-33. —.
"The Obscenity Trial: How They Voted to Acquit." Artnews
(December 1990): 136-141. Gurstein,
Rochelle. "Current Debate: High Art or Hard-Core? Misjudging
Mapplethorpe: the Art Scene and the Obscene." Tikkun
(November-December 1991): 70-80. Light,
Judy. "Jury Acquits Museum in Landmark Art Trial." Dancemagazine
(December 1990): 12-13.
The
Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation website Exhibitions
with Robert Mapplethorpe Biography
from the Guggenheim Museum Robert Mapplethorpe at
the Internet Movie Database |