Mapplethorpe

[Alan W]

Is it uncool to view Mapplethorpe as porn,or do some people think that there's some artistic merit in his work(let's not even consider the flower stuff).Just read the Morrisroe bio.and was wondering what the general consensus is,I've got my own opinion,just curious.

[2F/2F]

I do not even understand the question, "Is it uncool to view Mapplethorpe as porn." What do you mean?

[brucemuir]

2fer,
I think what he means is...

If you view Mapes work as obscene tripe masquerading as art will most think you have no artistist vision and are a redneck from some Tea Party state.

That's what I'm getting but I could be wrong.

[tomalophicon]

I love his stuff.
I also love porn though, and I don't think his work is porn.

Think of it what you will, if anyone judges you for it tell them to get F****d!

[Alan W]

2fer,
I think what he means is...

If you view Mapes work as obscene tripe masquerading as art will most think you have no artistist vision and are a redneck from some Tea Party state.

That's what I'm getting but I could be wrong.

This is exactly what I mean.Do people automatically pigeonhole you along with Jessie Helms.

[tomalophicon]

And why can't porn be art? Some of the stuff I see is pretty damn artistic

[Alan W]

And why can't porn be art? Some of the stuff I see is pretty damn artistic

This is the question,why isn't porn art or vice versa?

[Worker 11811]

I went to see Mapplethorpe when I was in college, right about the time when all the hubbub started. The only reason I went was because people were talking about it so much. I was studying photography and I thought it was something I "should" see.

The photos were good but the pornographic nature of the pictures was a big turn-off for me. Did I not like the pictures because they showed naked guys and stuff? No, but they didn't add anything, either.

I honestly believed that it was all a publicity stunt.

To be truthful, the photos were good but I've seen some of you guys shoot better stuff that that.

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Maplethorpe didn't just do homoerotic images. He also did portraits and still life. Art is in the eye of the beholder. The rocker Pati Smith that knew him until his death inconcidered him as an artist. I saw a show of his and I was quite impressed by the quality of his work. The thing about art is that it at times causes controversy. He definitely made the funding of art political.

[Ottrdaemmerung]

I feel Mapplethorpe was nothing short of a genius, and that he merits being considered among the great artists of the photographic medium. His most mundane work is easily as good as Weston. His explicit nudes and his floral photographs are so wonderfully executed that his still-life subjects look almost pornographic, and his aroused nude subjects look commonplace, almost mundane. This is where I think he excelled.

Yes, there are other photographers that were/are as capable as Mapplethorpe (the recent publicity about Vivian Meier comes to mind, and of course there are many great artists here on APUG), but I'm sure Mapplethorpe's talent would have progressed even further if he hadn't been struck down by HIV.