Robert Mapplethorpe: Ten by Ten

by Els Barents, Robert Mapplethorpe

Famous for his early 1970s leather scenes with an explicitly homosexual symbolism, Robert Mapplethorpe’s work became more varied over the years. Along with his heavy pornographic and sadomasochistic images he also devoted himself to classical genres, such as portraits, nudes, flowers, and still lifes. In the 80s, his work stood for the contemporary psycho-erotic life-style. Like a sculptor he modeled with light the bodies, plants, and objects he portrayed and stylized them into classic sculptures of vivid sensuality. A fascinating combination of strength and grace, his work walks a it is hard and romantic, calculating and full of abandon, introverted and extroverted, intimate and theatrical.

152 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[James]

In many ways, this feels more like an exhibition catalogue than a book. The text is minimal, allowing the bulk of the publication to focus on the photographs. In some ways, this is not a bad thing, though it would perhaps have been useful to have a little more information than the four pages of text present (of which, half were in German, with the other half the English translation).

But the photograph - they make up in large extent for the lack of words. Mapplethorpe's work is summarised in a broad cross section of 70 images, images which range from tender character studies and still lifes through to his more well-known homoerotic imagery and powerful, fierce portraits of himself and his milieu.