Artwork appreciated by university professor
Scott Raynor
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
Keith Holz, assistant professor of art at Western Illinois University, does not particularly like or dislike photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, the subject of his lecture last Wednesday in Malpass Library. Instead, he sees him as an important figure in art history, and said, summarizing his body of work, "(Mapplethorpe) has pictures for everyone, and pictures to upset just about anyone."
The presentation was the first in a four-part series titled "Libraries, Archives, Museums and Sexuality," presented by University Libraries and the University Committee on Sexual Orientation.
Holz's presentation, "Mapplethorpe Remembered," showcased the life, works and controversies of the late photographer. It also addressed the question often associated with Mapplethorpe's work: What constitutes pornography?
Mapplethorpe's work has often been compared to pornography due to its graphic depiction of homoeroticism, but Holz was not convinced. He defined pornography as film critic Linda Williams did: "the frenzy of the visible," where porn films exist to show the abject reality of a sex act.
Mapplethorpe did not qualify, according to Holz, because though highly sexual, the photographs are shown in a way to expose the humanity of the homosexuals behind the sex act, desensitizing the viewer instead of stimulating.
Holz presented much of Mapplethorpe's work, including "Bryan Ridley and Lyle Heeter" (1979), a photograph depicting two males staring plainly into the camera dressed in leather bondage suits in a living room setting. This, as Holz suggested, juxtaposed the men's sexual activity with the domestic quality of everyday life, suggesting normalcy to the viewer despite its cultural taboo connotations.
Holz said another common issue in Mapplethorpe's photography: his seemingly objectifying photographs of black men. Photographs of black males seem to only show the bodies and body sections alone, rarely showing the model's face. This, as many art critics point out, de-humanizes black males.
Holz said Mapplethorpe did not exclusively photograph homoerotic males. A great portion of his work was dedicated to celebrities, female nudes and even flowers. These typically are the photographs that earn the most at art auctions, like his print "Andy Warhol" (1987), which sold for $643,200 in 2006 at Sotheby's New York.
The presentation was the first in a four-part series titled "Libraries, Archives, Museums and Sexuality," presented by University Libraries and the University Committee on Sexual Orientation.
Holz's presentation, "Mapplethorpe Remembered," showcased the life, works and controversies of the late photographer. It also addressed the question often associated with Mapplethorpe's work: What constitutes pornography?
Mapplethorpe's work has often been compared to pornography due to its graphic depiction of homoeroticism, but Holz was not convinced. He defined pornography as film critic Linda Williams did: "the frenzy of the visible," where porn films exist to show the abject reality of a sex act.
Mapplethorpe did not qualify, according to Holz, because though highly sexual, the photographs are shown in a way to expose the humanity of the homosexuals behind the sex act, desensitizing the viewer instead of stimulating.
Holz presented much of Mapplethorpe's work, including "Bryan Ridley and Lyle Heeter" (1979), a photograph depicting two males staring plainly into the camera dressed in leather bondage suits in a living room setting. This, as Holz suggested, juxtaposed the men's sexual activity with the domestic quality of everyday life, suggesting normalcy to the viewer despite its cultural taboo connotations.
Holz said another common issue in Mapplethorpe's photography: his seemingly objectifying photographs of black men. Photographs of black males seem to only show the bodies and body sections alone, rarely showing the model's face. This, as many art critics point out, de-humanizes black males.
Holz said Mapplethorpe did not exclusively photograph homoerotic males. A great portion of his work was dedicated to celebrities, female nudes and even flowers. These typically are the photographs that earn the most at art auctions, like his print "Andy Warhol" (1987), which sold for $643,200 in 2006 at Sotheby's New York.
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