The somewhat controversial figure's career took off in the early 1970s and carried on until the mid-1980s. Along with gaining a reputation for his nude portraits, Mapplethorpe is also remembered as the longtime companion of punk godmother Patti Smith. The two lived together shortly after Smith moved to New York in the late-1960s, and together they established themselves among the punk underground.
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| Lisa Lyon, by Robert Mapplethorpe 1982 |
What makes "Robert Mapplethorpe: 50 Americans" unique is that the selected photos were picked by 50 random Americans, one from each state. Recruited via Facebook and Craigslist, the participants chose the photographs that caught their eye, as instructed by Sean Kelly himself. Regardless of what you may expect, a quiet housewife from Oklahoma may not decide upon a flower print, just like a drag queen from Seattle may not necessarily choose a portrait of Mapplethorpe wearing lipstick.
The interesting thing about him is that he forces you to take a second look. A seemingly simple picture holds a thousand little secrets. What the exhibit represents are 50 moments where someone uncovered one of those secrets.
"Robert Mapplethorpe: 50 Americans" runs from May 6th to June 25th.
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