University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Education: National Endowment for the Arts and : News Articles (1989) Humanities, Subject Files II (1962-1996)

1989 Obscenity: News Articles (1989): News Article 03 Jo Ann Lewis

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_II_58

Recommended Citation Lewis, Jo Ann, "Obscenity: News Articles (1989): News Article 03" (1989). Obscenity: News Articles (1989). Paper 8. http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_II_58/8http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_II_58/8

This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files II (1962-1996) at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Obscenity: News Articles (1989) by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ' .: :,.-',' ~ . '· : /J~JJ- '~ _a;r:;:~~ .,.._,__,_ t .. /

1;. ~

o_ / .~:;.l/~

'.. ')_gr) f 5 '< 31(r

. ' 0-A-f, ~ f- f- . ciose your eyes. 89 Jlll I ; M1 9: 21 Glove your hands, So naughty art won't grab your glands!

I Scream for censors.

Ma~e d.em~tig§. Take the art

out- 9:f ~~}j.§tl?' hands!

compliments of The Texas Art Ban.d San Antonio, Te_jC~s J· ,·

'·"_; ..

. \, ~·

•I

,,·'·

.'' '4 ' ' --~1 " ' 's "Ajitto,''.1981. ·

Art ..~:r.~: ~(:; ...... i;~ ~! ·.~'f ;:',: . ' "J.:.:.: . .·· Mf!pplef/iotpe ~ ·· · ···, Tr:~1i§foff/µations · ·. l'\!'J '''J.·'i,· .· :v.:b"i : .. · · . .At~ WPA~-: the ContrQ~ersial' Exhibition ,);.J -·... ' , ,'•'\' . By Jo Ann LeWis .. ':_;_.homosexual behavior with an inter- Specialto.lheWaShliiatonPos1 :~··racial and, occasionally, a sadomas- ...... " ·. bchistic twist. · The most, .$hocking thing about . · Even in an age ·that embraced . th~ Robert Mapplethorpe ~ho~, rebellion-and in an art world that whi~h opens today a.t Washmgto~ ... .- Co-opted every kinky nuance, po-

"': .. P1.sroJect,for ~--e.-~-, '.}show g.~ 1: ..... ~thelty sipp~ ~OC:~tat~;:~f~~ _hisd ... ; · • · · .. · \';'."' ·: · . · · · , ...... n o ogqpt's of ~ uuue appen - Antd--given~all ~ brouhaha-e ba:s,.t>eell too · '' · how ame. · . · We already kilew what a bad boy ,·.much for some people •.Ex~pt m ' the late Mapplethorpe was (unfor-'i ... New York. They loved him m New . tunately, that's:allsame know, onen.. Yori(.,., ; _ ' '· · '· · . · reason the Corcoran canceled the···,; . Last night, as hundreds here pcrr · show last month). His reputation;:~:· ~tely sipped .~s at WPA's open­ was based on the factthat he'd set.ltr;1ng AIDS benefit (Mapplethorpe · · out to chip a~y at the boundaries·' 1. • *·'rQO~~~¢'~ : Nude~ '.Portraits,, Flowers >il"ilt 1m . Pola~oi~s: · .Pa~~:~(t~t~~ppl~:" -., · · . -·· · .,, . ·. · -~wJi6aar~.,.,. ·Il~----· ·· ·"·1'<'~4 ., ~q thorpe left· his churcljg~mg~~thollc. -Di~~~".''''·.,.· · ·'.: --"··- ·>-·. •' · • · . Jts.,of ~the-ric~"- ell: "Man:iii;Pol~~r-Suit,;, ~gi:f~,., Tue show..:..:h8ndso.fu~1~· iii'st3~1~. ·'. re.ach:Iongm.gly, for anothe~,,.no e ,.~.~g po .. ·...... _-·- .., ... ·.fi .. --, 1 h,Qme.1pi. Floral P~k.~].orig ls.land, a. t · · .._~.,, ..., · ..... ,.~··· · · :diffi~1SthatWarho i · '?tli~:· ·· ·· · '¥of:..:.t>J:.fm~·~iill't ,. ~· . ~" . .. 0 _ . , .._ • •,, T .~- ;.c~J, \!<');. . . tutes.. ettOJ;$0,, ,,...... , •.. ~~·. ale.!iG'.~:tak'el'rt~~-·-~:; ~ ...... ,~~-···t:, ...... ~ . . ·~ "'.Wbo:~efped~te three1>~ suit, his fly Wi~e open. -It : :-·:£~~ ··n~o;,~~':.· rgia 0 Keeffe s-:flowe_rs;:. " __ .,.,-. .; ..,.;, '· .. ..: _. ·.1 'th--. - ' 10$tJ.~'!t~ in)lrookl}rn.<;,Th~r~,~~~~l~cJ ""'·•·· . "~·i;;: ;._ .. -.:<;.t1· .._ . ··' ·i"v-" 'newtform~P. art Nfapp.1~ om offended same;. but: oth~rs.; mn~~ '·' 1arge-$Cale photogriiph~ ~that· inti:<>-. ;;·,:i:;'.fhell',.:a,e.:_a~.'~ei:al.fj .,,,,,""··r<~,.~,-µgh. Ji.·,'.·:~J··a· 1 ·-·d· ~"'1 ~~ "~: · '"':~ol''-:...1.'''. · .1.a , . .. . :was nnt•: o e 1,ue , ¥ su earPa l~ ·ss1i~tsth... :.~!.;.sooth.,~?.!>"m:n· ~~·~kh:.~~r .. 1 realizeci,~!h~t';Mapplet~rp~;;~~~ ~[ Huce ·the ·three basic. sobjec~~.that. -, · '· ·-wn 4 · · ~'1M.cutl$ .OJ, ~an. :wor~ :1 Ullllrulq. .,,. ··~-::::~ · · .. ..i •«·-' ' " • 11s - . --~·~·Jl}.1.,.,._.,)Y,l,._;,,....,.-E· ,J.~~.. >!l'9! .. ·· .. ,.. .;. ·, · · .. . . :,fil((,excel . probablY'}DaKing sly-Jun of ,~b.e1r · i>reoecfipie-ci Ma1>pletho~uglj~ ~.~·.,.·;\'· ·~~ ""·"~"; ~~·~··" cQm~w.mg ,.,fire~~ digs:lif U,te earfy,days~m .e'W.'l'Cir~ •jl' ".most 1~~~ )}CPIB ;""lune ,. rtraits and flo\\'.~rS:·.T;here Ma4oJilia .is:·:'baffling, 1 b~t ·: ~ayi·s.ug~i) . J.eQ Castelli and photograph}' ~~~".-:_,- ;· i~ea~ ·ina'f;)vell .. ~~V.e. ~o-~~)f.ro't! ~-;·For-\Vomen~~custoinarily arefour imposing images Qf a s1Dgle 1 gese·e.arW' airibigulty'' about~geo::fr< I , tor Sani Wagstaff, w~o hel~ ~~:~ ' nothing. mo~e than innate S!~Pl~· confronted With foinale nudes, it's a black male nude, seated on a draped der_..:.a theme that persists through-· refreshing switch. - . Mapplethorpe famous .. In .the ·e,J'.ld, '.. ·mindedne&S,-. but they had an unpae1 pedestal and straightforward~y ob­ out his work. It is most fully the irifluences of earlier. · Mapplethorpe's Mapplethorpe ·1s nci humorist, btit served from four different J)91Dts of · photo~- nonethel~. (o~ expressed in·a .. pair of his own sel(-·1 phers, ·seen fa those :collect~ intag- ;· iinpact iS cloubtfUt. He was yoling,. o: he can be funny;· and even makes fun view in dramatic light/fhere is ~1so··, portraits: (among :many), orte;deplct• ·-~ · ~. abound _in his work, frQR,l Ed~, i:outse: only.·~ .w~en ,he died.'. Wit< of his own work in' a photograph of a an incandescent portrillf9f '.collector· . 1 ing:~·;~ ·iJ' rriacho·ntan, ·the·;other~~ · West.911. to high-fashion···phi)~ogra: "-·.. kDoY(S what 'he rnigli(have done? -·~ dramatically illuminated bunch of Doris Saatchi, ·on~,~;o_t;,Mapp1¢-_ as a woman with teased . phers Irving PeM and·Richare's greatest (lenf by the N~- . A 1 belief in androgyny, in fact, is don. Mapplethorpe's best ,PQrtfai~.\,.have.- said. it best him~lf _during .CIJ up-~S&~fs~!>Y,lts,s~e~·:,L~t,f .: ~ tional J?.o~itp~~~rytJ:-<>ri~~>.;;~~; .·'" o~vi9u51)• what~~~~ body.· ~b~ld~rJ ~:Jn;'tact'~ - · ·;IJcist.he:a. · -·.;·,:·_.,. . ·• ., 0 1$/ :BBG iSh.onb9?ef9~ h. for the real S&M·photographs; · a still life· With mses;·pnil~ ID\gra-:·., .< Lisa :Lyon so fasc1Dating to Mapple- l ."d~ly··~fi~~ievei of ·p·1i~ "~tm~ptured a certauffeel they. constitu,te J~ ,,th~. 5 perce!lt : vure and mount~d on silk, reflecting_; thorpe, .~d he tr;msmits tltat. f~i­ '-; .. - Ma' tetho · · ''s''1rite~·;·m::·,~ou~·r . :un~~r~ated) .~nd .A~epo9~,~.~~.~iifi,~~~8,~~~t a, certain -~~e in a ce~ . pp . rpe , ~-.. •· . •,.;;- . ilation'.:iif'some of his strongeiit w~k. 1 . ~ overrated). -To as8ert lhat::he'Js · :·place--lfe:w York ...And/no_W:.•1t:~ ~!c~~i::~~~p~~~baf~~\1;~~:·1 proeesse; and medta.: · > _· -, · - - depicting her sometimes as soft and . 0 more than either ignores the pasb '~ ~ne." ,. confined to the "blue room~ 'set off at ' From the start, Mapplethorpe had feminine, sometimes as masculine . · ··. · · - · · . the rear of the upstairs spare, with a also ·experimented with various' and muscular. also haunts· th'is_·,- ;.- In a ~ay his. ~e~th-~nd, Sf!11bofi. 1 carefully worded caveat to ward off · framing devices, trying t9. _transform .~ The show's masterpiece, in fact, show, not only as· subject but .as at~: . ··i~· t?s e~:~~~"::.....h1:~ea:~~~;! sque~i:nish adults and .chil~~~n .. · his 'photographs into wnat he appar­ is a triptych featuring Lyon's.. ~jliny,, tude: Mappl~thorpe.grew up ID War: .. -.. ~n CIR con Y . . . ·. _... , .. ,,, I 1 .,h •:-;.. tim' ..,_~ ..d kn·- . full well.ho... ·;~·fio4.at ~~~do~ lli.at era.- .. ·, . ~- · There are some stomach~turners :· eiitlY: ~felt~was·~som~t~lli~of~::: graphite-covered body tr~nqujlly - 011c111. es, ·Gii . ew ...... ,, "'• .... · . _. · .. , , . , .·· " ...,I there, to be sure; but there is also . sculpttiral objects. Occasionally i · posed against a backdrop of graph~ to shock, how, t~ make himself fa- < Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfec1 one image from the ."xn portfolio· these diptych, triptych or cruciform ite-covered canvas-a miracle of mous, how· to· make the· pght CO.'t ... : Moment, a touri_ng exhibition that aria! i tha~ can.be .seen-in a far larger for:­ formats work;..as in the case ofa vo­ virtuo8ic tonal nuance. Here, howev­ nections, manipulate the market, noted under ~n NEA grant ~t the .Jnsti mat....;:,in the National Gallery's ~r~ tive pijrtrait of Andy Warhol; El~ er-partly. by her. st;tnce,_ ,pa.rtlr _~Y. etc. BOth were parf of :thtHirug-be" ··.. ·~.of ~temporary A~ •n PhilaJ!f! rent photographic history survey. · where~:however-as in the' 1987 masterfully manipulating :sudac~ · · '· · ... ,,. N- y ..t:, .b· .' p/ua, r.oill be at the .Waslungton Pro1ec In other words, anyone who sotted _subci.iltur~ 111 • ew , . Oal\,. ut /or the Arts, 400 SeJJenth St.::NW "Thomas in Cirde,"·~ male nude.. fag~ text~he transforms her iota an : they differed chiefly that .Warhol throfich Aug. 13. Hours for chooses ·not to .look· at Mapple­ an IMsluJw ~n.c ure juxtaposed with a slab of e"een­ altog~ther conv~n~ing,,. ~~mele.s~. i was voyeur to an earlier generation; books/Me have been ~ lo :~O a.~ thorpe's most·objectionable work sive ieopard-printed v~lvet-these monumental bronze. statue~ · · · · .Mapplethorpe was a particiJl!lllt~. In to 1 p.m.; ~11en days .a ~· . <• , .: ,, caii .easily. avoid it: by simply not en:.. elabOrately ·mounted works. su~est Obve~ly, in a photograph, of· a. 1 . '. . ~. I '. . . ••! ' • tering the final gallery. · · a: photographer overreaching him~ real classical bronze sculpture. of a 1 ·Whiclt leaves visitors to relax, so self, and often landing meaningle5sly black man, he seems to tr.irisforin · ' far as the. rest bf the show is con­ in the realm of exotic decor. · His: · the sculptured ~ead,it)to a.~man.who cerned, :and make some kind. of lev­ heart-shaped boxes containing dag~ . is altogether alive. Mappl~thorpe_·~ el-headed·. appraisal of. the work, gers and star-shaped frames contain­ genius was. clearly in ~ ability. to j which ;is :what ·retrospective exhibi­ ing mirrors.are nothing b~t p~ops. transform lhings, to turn subject tions ate for, and museums suppos­ matter into something· other than edly ID OUStnt!SS lO lJWVIUt:. IH1<1LC.::V • ~.,jhlL ~i. l'-=<1:~) wu~--.,Vviu,Jil tv ,-)-.:;~!~ er the' cooclusions about the quality ture, man to.woman; flower to lover. of the art '(and 'apart from the "blue The show finally bmiclte8 .out iitto · rciOm;• fhis' is Cl~rly art, not ptimog­ groups of .portraits,' stilt lifes an