Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an influential American photographer, known for his provocative and often controversial work exploring themes of sexuality, particularly within New York's gay subculture during the 1970s. His photography included a wide range of subjects, from homoerotic images to still-life floral studies, and he is often regarded as one of the finest studio photographers of his generation. Throughout his career, Mapplethorpe faced criticism for his explicit imagery, particularly those featuring sadomasochistic themes, which sparked debates about the boundaries of art and pornography.
As his work evolved, it became more formal and classical in style, although it continued to generate significant public discourse. In 1988, major retrospectives of his work were organized, which led to a political backlash against the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and heightened scrutiny of government funding for controversial art. This culminated in legal challenges surrounding his exhibition in Cincinnati, where obscenity charges were brought against the museum hosting his work. Despite these challenges, Mapplethorpe's photographs ultimately became emblematic of the fight for artistic freedom in America, especially after his death from AIDS in 1989. His legacy continues to provoke discussions about the intersection of art, society, and censorship.
Subject Terms
Robert Mapplethorpe
Photographer
- Born: November 4, 1946
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: March 9, 1989
- Place of death: Boston, Massachusetts
Identification: American photographer
Significance: Controversy surrounding a traveling exhibition of Mapplethorpe’s work spurred debate about the use of government funds to support art and led to changes in the granting process of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Mapplethorpe gained notoriety during the 1970’s for his homoerotic photographs exploring New York’s gay subculture. Some critics charged that his most explicit images, particularly those showing sadomasochistic sexual activity, crossed the line between “fine art” and “pornography.” Nevertheless, by the end of the decade Mapplethorpe’s photographs found their way into museums and uptown galleries; by the early 1980’s, he was considered a mainstream photographer. His images included portraits and still-life work—particularly flower studies, in addition to homoerotic work. Some critics considered him to be the finest studio photographer of his generation. As he matured, his work became more formal and classical, and less sexual in content.
In 1988 two major Mapplethorpe retrospectives were organized, one by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the other by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Supported in part by an NEA grant, the Philadelphia exhibit opened in December, 1988, and was scheduled to travel to six other cities later.
Conservative politicians led by Republican senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina and civic and religious leaders decried NEA use of taxpayer money to support the exhibit. The American Family Association, the Traditional Values Coalition, the 700 Club, the Eagle Forum, and Concerned Women for America were involved in the campaign. The NEA became the focus of the debate, and the Mapplethorpe show and an exhibit of work by photographer Andres Serrano, organized by Winston-Salem’s Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, were singled out to “represent” the kinds of objectionable exhibits receiving grants.
Controversy over the Mapplethorpe show reached a fever pitch in June when the exhibit’s third venue, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., abruptly canceled the show. (It was instead exhibited by the Washington Project for the Arts.) Other artists boycotted the Corcoran and pulled out of their own forthcoming exhibitions; memberships were terminated, donations canceled, and several key employees resigned.
The timing of the Mapplethorpe and Serrano exhibitions coincided with congressional hearings to reauthorize NEA funding. Senator Helms sought to attach content restrictions to grants by raising the specter of “offensive art” promoting “deviant sexuality.” He called for Congress to cut NEA funding significantly and for the two institutions behind the Mapplethorpe and Serrano exhibitions to be banned from receiving further NEA grants for five years.
Helms’s amendment was ultimately replaced by a compromise bill that removed the harshest penalties, requiring the NEA merely to observe bans on obscenity—as defined in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Miller v. California ruling. The NEA budget was cut by $45,000—the exact amount that it had granted to the two offending shows. A commission was appointed to study NEA standards and peer-review procedures. Grant recipients were asked to sign agreements to abide by the terms of the new law, and review panels were asked to consider whether works of art were obscene. The law thus encouraged self-censorship by artists, institutions, and review panels.
In April, 1990, just as the Mapplethorpe show was scheduled to open at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, the museum and its director, Dennis Barrie, were charged with two obscenity counts each: pandering and use of a minor in pornography. The latter charge was associated with the photograph “Honey,” a portrait of a little girl revealing her genitals. In anticipation of legal challenges, Barrie had taken several preemptive steps. No NEA funds were used to support the Cincinnati venue, and all explicit photographs of homosexual activity were displayed in a separate room, outside of which a sign warned that persons under eighteen could not enter unless accompanied by an adult. In addition, the museum had filed a suit on March 27, 1990, in Hamilton County Municipal Court asking a jury to determine whether the images in question were legally obscene. On April 6, one day before a Cincinnati grand jury indicted the museum on charges of obscenity, a municipal judge dismissed its suit. Two days later a federal judge ruled that local police could not further interfere with the exhibit, and the museum and Barrie were ultimately acquitted of the obscenity charges.
After Mapplethorpe died of AIDS in early 1989, his photographs came to symbolize the battle for artistic freedom in America.