Mapplethorpe Reflection
After watching the documentary, Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures, I found myself very confused regarding his photography and his art. I can definitely understand why many people were against it and why many considered it pornography. A lot of his photographs can be quite difficult and uncomfortable to look at. However, I think that the only reason a lot of people had/have a hard time processing and digesting his work is due to the fact that they are images/subjects that we are not so used to seeing. I'm not a huge fan of his work but I also see how hypocritical people can sometimes be because his work can be compared with other photographers who shoot naked women, yet nobody ever questions those images or have any issues with them being considered "art", for the most part, these images are always praised and considered beautiful yet I think the male body is no different than the female body. When he photographed women no one really cared, including the photos he did with Lisa Lyon despite them being very similar to some of his male photographs. Everyone only seemed to have an issue with Mapplethorpe when it included a man, a penis, and/or gay people. I just think people are not so used to seeing the male body being "displayed" as often as the female body which is why it's shocking to look at. I also think that maybe if Mapplethorpe wasn't using so many sex toys in his photographs then maybe people wouldn't of have seen his work as pornography and maybe more like art. I also think that Mapplethorpe sort of let fame get in the way of his "art" and what photography is all about, there's a part in the documentary where his brother says that Mapplethorpe enjoyed getting a reaction out of people, and I think that after a while he sort of lost track of his work and just took photos that he knew were gonna get people talking and shocked, which he knew would have magazines/people talking about him, and to me, this is not fame or at least not the "right way" to achieve fame. He achieved fame by being controversial and having people talk negatively about him, which is not what I think "anyone wants". However, I think it's great/interesting that his work is out there since I appreciate his way of looking at "art" and the fact that to this day we can have (still have) a debate regarding the things that are considered fine art versus not.
