At the Met, portraits of an alternate history Aug 28, 2008
Guy's untitled self-portrait from 1979 flirts with the exhibitionism of artists like Acconci and Robert Mapplethorpe. In the picture she hides her face behind a camera while draping her naked body across a bedsheet. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Louise Bourgeois exhibit reveals two sides of artist Aug 24, 2008
"Fillette," for instance, which became Bourgeois's best known work after Robert Mapplethorpe photographed her holding the piece under her arm like a handbag or a swaddled baby, is - unmistakably - an erect penis with two testes. But its surface is a fascinating combination of scumbled and glistening-smooth, and its ugly, outsize power is perfectly balanced by its fragility in space (it hangs by a hook). (Boston Globe)
She is a punk rocker Jul 28, 2008
You're referring to the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, another of your muses who died young. Do you ever feel lonely. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Swansong of versatility and ambition Jul 16, 2008
It's important to mount her body of work, to see the mutual influences in her work with such artists as Robert Mapplethorpe and to appreciate her role as a collaborator. " Smith will perform two concerts with songs from her latest album, Twelve, and songs from her back catalogue. There will also be exhibitions of her photography, personal artefacts and objects. She will join Glass for an evening of piano and poetry inspired by the late Allen Ginsberg, the seminal beat poet. Glass has become a... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Jesse Helms, conservative force in U.S. Senate, dies Jul 5, 2008
In the 1980's he took on the National Endowment for the Arts for subsidizing art that he found offensive, chiefly that of the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who explored gay themes in some of his work, and of the artist Andres Serrano, who depicted a crucifix submerged in urine. He later led an ill-fated attempt to take over CBS, exhorting conservatives to buy up stock in order to stop what he saw as a liberal bias in its news reporting. (International Herald Tribune)
Sen. Jesse Helms Dead at 86 Jul 5, 2008
In 1989, Helms became embroiled in a national debate on homoerotic photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe, and Andres Serrano's photograph of a crucifix in a glass of urine. Both were on display at an exhibit funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. (ABC News)
More of this story Jun 14, 2008
Alongside the flowers, work from about 20 contemporary artists will be shown - Isamu Noguchi, Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe among them. Traditional Japanese culture has long influenced Western art, but this exhibit takes it a step further. (Los Angeles Downtown News, CA)
A Searing Image May 30, 2008
Masur also deconstructs some of the most fabled images of the American flag, from Iwo Jima to the most provocative work of artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe. He takes the reader back to the Civil War, when the "cult of the American Flag" took root, and where the symbol became a major part of the American culture. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Fantastic voyage May 23, 2008
He owns images by Man Ray, Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams and Robert Mapplethorpe. John once told Rolling Stone: "Whenever I watch 'MTV Cribs,' I cringe. I think, 'Oh, my God, he has got no great art on the walls and 20 motorcycles and 20 cars. Sell the cars and buy a nice piece of art.". (Anchorage Daily News)
All human life May 21, 2008
At one extreme, we have the playacting of Cecil Beaton or Robert Mapplethorpe, with his man in a rubber suit and restrictive breathing apparatus. At the other, the corpse on the pavement, leaking blood into the gutter, in Mexican Manuel Alvarez Bravo's 1934 Striking Worker, Assassinated. (Guardian Unlimited -- Arts)
Hurry, hurry, step right in and Spin’ May 9, 2008
In 1989, Frohnmayer was named to the post by President George H.W. Bush, but found he d inherited some controversial decisions from his predecessor, including NEA grants given to photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano, whose work included strongly sexual and anti-religious overtones. Frohnmayer defended the decision to use public money to fund the work of the artists, but was eventually fired for taking that stand. (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)
Roberto Cavalli collaborating with Amy Winehouse? No, no, no Apr 2, 2008
I'm like a farmer who has to till the fields whether he's 20 or 90 - a farmer who happened to collaborate with some of the seminal creatives of the 20th century, including Robert Mapplethorpe, William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Smith's is undeniably a style that has stood the test of time. (Times Online)
Patti Smith — Artistic Triple Threat Mar 28, 2008
In 1978 when I put out Easter, Robert Mapplethorpe and I had a major exhibit of drawings and photographs at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City, which for me was as important as putting out Easter, even though Easter had "Because the Night" on it, and brought us to another level ... You were very close to a great photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. (Time.com)
No finer arts around than at these college museums Mar 16, 2008
Nineteenth-century pioneers are represented, including William Henry Fox Talbot and Edward Muybridge, to contemporary photographers including Chris Enos and Robert Mapplethorpe. Jaci Conry, a freelance writer and managing editor of South Shore Living magazine, can be reached at. (Boston Globe)
Auction of iconic photos to fetch millions Mar 15, 2008
Also that day, the auction house will offer a range of 20th-century photographs by such artists as Edward Weston, Irving Penn, Dorthea Lange and Robert Mapplethorpe. Two Penn masterpieces are expected to bring up to $300,000 and $350,000, respectively. (MSNBC -- News)
Anthony dOffay Mar 2, 2008
Much of the praise for his donation, which also includes works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus and Ian Hamilton Finlay, centres on the belief that d Offay has plugged a gap in the nation s art collection. For decades, Britain s gallery directors failed to buy works by the practitioners of contemporary and modern art, even when they were relatively affordable. (Times Online)
A collector's item: art dealer's 125m gift to the nation is ... Feb 29, 2008
The Tate's limited photographic collection, for example, can be transformed into an exemplary archive with some of the strongest material by Dianne Arbus and Robert Mapplethorpe who is not currently represented in any national collections now in its hands. The donation includes D'Offay's gallery archive of more than 1,000 boxes, which provides a unique record of contemporary art over 30 years. (Independent)
Artist Ana Maria Pacheco's work bears silent witness Feb 29, 2008
She crafted "Dark Night" while an artist in residence at London's National Gallery, taking inspiration from a Renaissance painting of St. Sebastian in the museum's collection as well as a photo from Brazil called "Death squad victim" and a Robert Mapplethorpe shot of a hooded naked man. The title, which refers to a crisis of faith, comes from a spiritual treatise written by the 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic mystic and reformer St. John of the Cross after escaping imprisonment by Catholic... (Boston Globe)
Britain acquires major modern art collection Feb 28, 2008
The collection, which also includes work by Joseph Beuys, Ron Mueck, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus and the duo Gilbert and George, will tour museums and galleries across Britain under the title Artist Rooms. It will be owned and managed by the Tate Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland, and grouped into a series of rooms representing individual artists. (MSNBC -- News)
Major arts bequest 'transforms' British collection Feb 27, 2008
The donation, which ranks among the most important in Europe, comprises a total of 725 works by 25 groundbreaking artists including Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ron Mueck, Damien Hirst and Bruce Nauman. It is one of the greatest gifts that has even been made to museums in this country, Tate director Nicholas Serota said on Wednesday announcing the donation. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Japan's top court rules erotic photo book is not obscene Feb 19, 2008
Japan's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a collection of erotic photographs by the late Robert Mapplethorpe does not violate obscenity laws, a decision that should allow the sale of the book for the first time in eight years. The decision overturns a 2003 Tokyo High Court ruling that the book "Mapplethorpe" was indecent, court spokesman Takashi Ando said. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
Animal magnetism Feb 19, 2008
Many were taken by other artists, including a 1975 photo by Robert Mapplethorpe that shows punk rocker Patti Smith standing next to two photos or paintings of horses. Display cases offer a potpourri of items that will appeal to animal lovers, including Christmas cards featuring pet photos, models photographed with dogs for Warhol's Interview magazine and decades-old veterinary bills and New York City dog licenses purchased for the dachshunds. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
More Top Stories Asia Pacific Headlines Feb 19, 2008
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's top court ruled on Tuesday that pictures by late US photographer Robert Mapplethorpe were not obscene, putting an end to nearly a decade-long battle over the country's censorship laws ... Reversing a lower court ruling, the Supreme Court ordered customs to lift its ban on bringing in the book of photographs, entitled "Robert Mapplethorpe." ... Customs officers at Tokyo's Narita airport had stopped publisher Takashi Asai, who is also a film distributor, saying that 20 of the... (Yahoo! Asia News)
SUNDANCE:Patti Smith Feb 1, 2008
At 23, a fledgling and serious poet, she became friends with artist Robert Mapplethorpe and teamed with him for a series of works that belonged to the early phases of performance art. Other encounters (such as with then-hell-raising playwright Sam Shepard) proved crucial, and led her into rock 'n' roll. (Variety)
Debbie Geller Dec 31, 2007
They depicted a world as strange as it was true, peopled by the likes of Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione, singer-songwriters Kinky Friedman and Slim Gaillard, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, underground film-maker Kenneth Anger and jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Her ability to find odd characters at the heart of 1980s America laid the foundation for Louis Theroux, who she went on to produce, and others. (Guardian Unlimited -- Media)
Experience visual overload during Art Basel Miami Beach Nov 8, 2007
A more compartmentalized approach to exhibitions, "Art Kabinett," focuses attention on small, curated shows of photography produced without cameras, along with electric signs, architectural sketches from Latin America and an early installation of fur, lamps, drapery and other found objects assembled by Robert Mapplethorpe. The fair extends to a beachfront village of repurposed shipping containers titled Art Positions, and injects glitz into Miami's more natural landscapes. (USA Today -- Travel)
Film fest audiences choose their favorites Oct 17, 2007
Additionally, D'Arcy mentioned "Black White as a rare portrait of an art collector because it is not always flattering and said it is a perspective of the art community that outsiders rarely see. The film focuses on curator and collector Sam Wagstaff, who launches controversial photopgrapher Robert Mapplethorpe into stardom.D'Arcy found "Terror's Advocate," the documentary about Jaques Verges, the defense attorney whose clients have ranged from thugs to terrorists to despots, so compelling that... (Kingston Daily Freeman)
Condo has skyscraper view. Aug 24, 2007
And a beautiful Robert Mapplethorpe color photograph of an orchid brightens the sitting room. Two paitnings by the late folk artist Mose Tolliver add cheer to the closet in the master bedroom. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Living)
Tales from the Factory floor Aug 5, 2007
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Mapplethorpe, Steven Meisel and the B-52s also pitched up. Walter Steding, Warhol's eccentric painting assistant, led the show's orchestra. (The Observer)
John Szarkowski; curator elevated art of photography Jul 10, 2007
Today's Globe Local Politics Opinion Magazine Education NECN Special reports Obituaries. After retiring as director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, John Szarkowski returned to taking and presenting his own photographs. (Boston Globe)
John Szarkowski, 81; photography curator Jul 10, 2007
He also resisted the homosexually explicit photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, despite what some critics saw as their historical significance. 1. (Los Angeles Times)
Wagstaff and Mapplethorpe: The aristocrat and the photographer Apr 26, 2007
Sam Wagstaff, left, and Robert Mapplethorpe in a 1974 portrait by Francesco Scavullo ... But the Wagstaff mystique deepens around his relationship to Robert Mapplethorpe, his lover, to whom he was also mentor and career impresario. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Karen Finley's 'Nation Building' comes to Emerson College Mar 5, 2007
Exhibitions by Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano that were indirectly funded by NEA money already had attracted the attention of such conservative politicians as Senator Jesse Helms and Representative Newt Gingrich, who began crusading against the use of taxpayers' money to support art that they regarded as obscene, anti - religious, and un-American. When they heard about Finley's NEA award, they'd found their poster girl. (Boston Globe)
Venetian to take over museum operations Feb 28, 2007
The Guggenheim Hermitage finished its Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit earlier this month and is closed for installation of its spring exhibit: "Treasures from the Guggenheim and Hermitage Collections: Picasso, Monet and More." The show will feature 40 works of art from the permanent collections and is scheduled through January. Critics have been pretty hard on the Guggenheim for the expansion of its brand. (Las Vegas Sun)
Art + Commerce Joins IMG Feb 15, 2007
This archive offers unprecedented access to the visionary work of such artists as, Steven Meisel, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Craig McDean, Ellen von Unwerth and the Estates of Guy Bourdin, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Ewrin Blumenfeld. IMG also represents many of the most important sports figures in the world including Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova and is one of the world's largest independent licensing companies. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Art icons live on, in a fashion Dec 22, 2006
The Robert Mapplethorpe Estate is turning to Chrome Hearts, the L.A.-based rock 'n' roll luxury brand designed by motorcycle enthusiast Richard Stark and his wife, Laurie. In February, several limited-edition items will land in Chrome Hearts boutiques and in museum stores, including Herm. (Los Angeles Times)
The Man Who Saved the NEA Nov 13, 2006
Back in the mid-1990s, conservative members of Congress, particularly Newt Gingrich, intended to abolish the NEA. Painting the Endowment as a way of getting taxpayers to foot the bill of the avant-garde, they voiced outrage at examples of government-funded outre art, including the homoerotic photography of Robert Mapplethorpe and a crucifix suspended in urine by Andres Serrano. In the end, the Endowment survived, but it was battered and bruised. (BusinessWeek)
The story of the famous NEA Four Nov 9, 2006
Jesse Helms, had previously criticized the NEA's funding of controversial artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe, known for his homoerotic photographs, and Andres Serrano, whose photograph "Piss Christ" featured Christ on a crucifix, submerged in a glass container filled with the artist's own urine. The NEA Four appealed the case and won a settlement for an amount equal to the revoked NEA grants. (Daily Iowan, IA)
Guggenheim Hermitage Launches Robert Mapplethorpe Exhibit Oct 24, 2006
The exhibit features the work of American artist Robert Mapplethorpe. explores the dialogue between the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) and classical art. (KLAS-TV.com, NV)
Exhibit of Mapplethorpe photographs opens today Oct 23, 2006
Robert Mapplethorpe's "Thomas" (1987) is paired with its inspiration, below ... An exhibit of works by controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe opens today at the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at The Venetian ... But Elizabeth Herridge, managing director of the museum, doesn't think the exhibit, "Robert Mapplethorpe and the Classical Tradition," will garner the type of reaction the late photographer's work received at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati in 1990. (Las Vegas Review-Journal -- Life)
Masterful coup for Melbourne Oct 4, 2006
More than 100 works by modern masters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, Willem de Kooning and Robert Mapplethorpe will arrive next year for the June-October exhibition. These include recent acquisitions that have not been shown anywhere. (Melbourne Herald Sun)
Bid to acquire key art collection Sep 27, 2006
Other works in his collection include pieces by Gilbert and George and Robert Mapplethorpe. SEE ALSO 06 Sep 01 | Entertainment. (BBC News -- UK)
Dismayed about the controversy Sep 7, 2006
Mikey wrote on September 07, 2006 7:12 AM:"I have not seen the paintings, but it does seem to me that the whole idea of art is to arouse feelings in the viewer and the artist. Some art offends - like some Robert Mapplethorpe photos - and is meant to. Other art offends when it is unintended. In either case we ought to be open to the feelings and question their origins. I think Gundersen may have blown this one. ". Excellent point, but what about free choice. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
- Mary Riddell Aug 27, 2006
It isn't Robert Mapplethorpe, exactly, or even Marcus Harvey's portrait of Myra Hindley, the child killer, done in infant handprints. It has, though, proved sensational enough to put one small town at the heart of the immigration debate. (Guardian Unlimited)
Visual artists come out in solidarity Aug 12, 2006
The visual arts alone have seen the AIDS-related deaths of painter Keith Haring, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and the two Toronto-based artists, Jorge Zontal (Jorge Saia) and Felix Partz (Ron Gabe), both part of the Toronto-based conceptualist collective General Idea. So it is entirely appropriate that starting this afternoon, the Royal Ontario Museum will be displaying AIDS (1989), the General Idea word-based sculpture, at the ROM Plaza on the corner of Bloor St. W. and Queen's Park. (Toronto Star -- Arts)
Philip Rieff, 83; Noted Sociologist Wrote Books About Cultural Decline Jul 5, 2006
Rieff defined a deathwork as a work of art that presents "an all-out assault upon something vital to the established culture." His examples included James Joyce's novel "Finnegans Wake" and a sexually explicit self-portrait by the controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. He cited Freud's theories as an extended deathwork that demolished prevailing world views without offering a new cultural order. (Los Angeles Times)
New York laid bare in Mapplethorpe restropective Jun 23, 2006
Robert Mapplethorpe in EdinburghFriday June 23, 2006. Rock singer Patti Smith said the main thing she learned from photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, her friend and sometime lover, was patience: "He was never one to snap.". (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
- June Newton on life after Helmut Jun 15, 2006
Some of June's most truthful photographs have been gathered together in June's Dark Room at the foundation: there are portraits of William Burroughs, Christopher Isherwood, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe and Christopher Reeve before he broke his neck, looking lithe and self-assured. "It's a Dark Room because they're all dead," says June. (Guardian Unlimited)
Read more... May 23, 2006
The organization was strongly criticized in the 1980s and 1990s for supporting artists such as controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and artist Andres Serrano, which resulted in budget cuts. But the Washington Post reports that during during a speech celebrating the NEA's 40th anniversary, chairman Dana Gioia said the organization has reconciled with the government. (PNN Online)
Isabella Rossellini May 7, 2006
Her face, with its flawless skin and Bergman features, was photographed by everyone from Richard Avedon to Robert Mapplethorpe. If proof of her loveliness were needed, the Mus. (TimesOnline)
New column puts human face on gay issues Apr 28, 2006
He spent the 1970s and early '80s working at major New York galleries and museums and doing projects with renowned artists including Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe before returning to SouthCoast. A graduate of Goddard College in Vermont at age 45, today he is a freelance arts writer and curatorial consultant at the New Bedford Art Museum. (The Standard-Times, MA)
Warhol Shoots Kissinger, Mapplethorpe Favors Flowers in Tokyo Exhibition Apr 19, 2006
Others, including Man Ray and Robert Mapplethorpe, made their names through photography. The exhibition, entitled ``Beautiful Cities in Dreams,'' has no real theme, just a series of arresting images. (Bloomberg -- Japan)
The biennale on the Clyde Apr 16, 2006
Perhaps less well known is her background as a poet and artist whose association with Robert Mapplethorpe predates her collaborations with Tom Verlaine and Bruce Springsteen. The exhibition in the imposing surrounds of the Mitchell Library - and to be seen nowhere else in Britain - brings together more than 100 of her drawings, paintings and photographs. (Scotsman)
- No Walls in This Berlin Mar 6, 2006
Slick with taut, rippled men, the gift calendars seemed as if long-ago Olympians, though with better haircuts, had somehow wandered across the lens of Robert Mapplethorpe. Two men entered, bringing the winter air with them. (Los Angeles Times)
