A citizen from each state in the country picked a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph from an archive of 2000 for a fascinating exhibit that opens tonight at the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York. A California artist is attracted to nostalgia (and Blondie’s Deborah Harry). A New York domestic abuse prosecutor is drawn in by a Mapplethorpe model’s vulnerability, while a Kentuckian is intoxicated by the “sexual quality” of his flowers. They come from diverse ages, races, occupations, backgrounds and familiarity of Mapplethorpe’s work, but together they re-contextualize his legendary oeuvre for the 21st century.
Click through our slideshow of a few of Mapplethorpe’s works selected by Americans representing their state and a few clues about why these images spoke to them. For all 50 sets of insightful reflections, check out Robert Mapplethorpe: 50 Americans.
Deborah Harry, 1978. Copyright Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.
Some California love for the “graffiti icon” from Mister Cartoon.
Comments (6)
Don’t know what kind of future, with the african unclothed and caucasian fully-clothed.
OH CHRIST. HANDS DOWN THE DEBORAH HARRY CAPTURED EVERYTHING!!
I like them all. But where are the homoerotic images Mapplethorpe pioneered?
god damn, debbie harry is and was so damn hot.
what a load of shite
What about portraits of patti smith??
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