Mapplethorpe saw social life as a theatre for him what he displayed with his work was no different from the fashion of modern women who attempted to make themselves attractive and powerful, he intentionally made his work provocative to get attention, as provocative was also typical of the art of the late 1970s and 1980s. Mapplethorpe had his own perspective and his own vision of S&M as modern theatre, his work claimed its place as...
Mapplethorpe saw social life as a theatre for him what he displayed with his work was no different from the fashion of modern women who attempted to make themselves attractive and powerful, he intentionally made his work provocative to get attention, as provocative was also typical of the art of the late 1970s and 1980s. Mapplethorpe had his own perspective and his own vision of S&M as modern theatre, his work claimed its place as art resistance of it’s time expressing the urgency of a political climate, were lives were being lost to AIDS and HIV and the governments response was to turn a blind eye, he wanted to make statements with his imagery bring them to the forefront and make people aware of the sexualities, his sculpture like nudes, sadomasochism images most of which the subjects were often friends, lovers and even celebrities the public deemed shocking, Mapplethorpe told art news in late 1988 “I don’t like that particular word ‘shocking’. “I’m looking for the unexpected. I’m looking for things I’ve never seen before…. I was in a position to take those pictures. I felt an obligation to do them.
