The Art Controversy of Mapplethorpe and Serrano - Essay Example

The Art Controversy of Mapplethorpe and Serrano Outline introduction 2. Mapplethorpe’s art, his style and content 3. Serrano’s art, his style and content 4. obscenity and NEA controversy 5. conclusion Thesis statement: Mapplethorpe and Serrano’s photographic representation of art depicts the artists’ courage and enterprise to portray what they feel and believe in, despite the world turning against them. Introduction The concept of art for art’s sake has been the cause of much debate and dispute among intellectuals down the ages. There have always been issues on the limit of artistic freedom. And opposing it are views questioning the moral policing of society, claiming the artist’s freedom of expression and choice of content. Mapplethorpe and Serrano were the two individuals who shocked the entire nation with their art of photography. They experimented with concepts that severely verged on what might be called obscene. They were also accused of pornography in the name of art. But a look into their artistic portfolio would make one point clear and that is their expertise in their field of art, photography. Both were master photographers in capturing moments in a timeless zone (Abbe, 2004) with every picture impregnated with the artist’s interpretations of his own consciousness. Though often tagged as obscene and outrageous, their photographs transcend beyond the grim and the mundane by the photographers’ artistic representations. Mapplethorpe’s art, his style and content Mapplethorpe’s art is a rare combination of classic style and revolutionary theme. He deals with his carefully chosen theme of eroticism so as to aggravate the shock value. He exploits the different nuances of sexuality from the homoerotic to the phallic (Kidd, 2003). His preferences with homoeroticism come naturally from his homosexual orientation. And to some extent it would not be wrong to say that his work of art portrays his own reflections and conceptualization of the erotic from a homosexual point of view (Celant, 1993). But to restrain his content to sexuality would be grossly unfair because in his later years Mapplethorpe had an ideological shift and he concentrated more on abstract spiritual themes rather than material ones. The uniqueness of his art lay in the fact that Mapplethorpe was unapologetic in his treatment of themes. He went ahead to capture in his frame some starkly bold moments of eroticism and the incongruous that have irked many. His collection called The Perfect Moment with works like ‘Man in Polyester Suit’, ‘Rosie’ (Levinson, 1990), those with depictions of female bodybuilder Lisa Lyon’s body parts captured with sensuality combined with the erotic (Levinson, 1990) are some of the evidences of his experimentations. His content mainly centred on artistic exploitation of human body making sense of every curve and crevice, the flower concept used more as an association of sensuality and sexual suggestiveness than of its usual significance of tender beauty and finally of his Catholic themes which were much appreciated for their strong spiritual flavour (Abbe, 2004; Levinson, 1990). In order to capture the intended meaning and significance of his thoughts he adopted the traditional or classical mode of portrait photography. His photos are all two-dimensional, his models posed under his strict instructions and he chose monochrome background settings so as to de-contextualize his photos and to give it a timeless appeal (Abbe, 2004). It is believed that he was much influenced by the photographic style of Edward Weston (Levinson, 1990). The reason of choosing portrait and sculpture photography is purely theme based. Portrait photography helped him in highlighting the different body parts projected in fragments. Serrano’s art, style and content Serrano made his intentions and purposes behind his photography genre known without being defensive. In his words he claims to be an ‘anti-hero’ or the rebel. After being on drugs till his late twenties, his abstinence and getting back to normal life did create a tremendous impact on his mind. He chose to depict the morbidity that his experiences left behind through subverted religious context and images. His ‘Piss Christ’ that shows Christ submerged in the artist’s urine shocked millions and enraged the religious community (Hartigan, 1991; Levinson, 1990; Elie, 1995). The ironical part of it is that the picture looks ethereal (O’Hara, 1995) unless one reads its title and Serrano has intentionally arranged for this shock treatment (Hackett, 1998). It shows his interpretation of religious iconography (Hartigan, 1991) which is definitely thought provoking if not equally effective (Elie, 1995). He would deliberately use body fluids like blood and milk as his subject and ultimate medium of artistic expression (Hartigan, 1991; O’Hara, 1995; Salisbury, 1994). He like his artistic counterpart Mapplethorpe is stubbornly unapologetic and goes a step ahead to assert his creative freedom. Stylistically Serrano tried to employ the classical mode of photography to create maximum impact. Evidence is the photograph ‘Morgue’ where apart from the blood stained dead bodies all other objects are blotted out (Hackett, 1998). Serrano loved to diffuse realistic colours and create a sense of beauty only to be disdained in shock (O’Hara, 1995). The Piss Christ has generated his desired response. Serrano is almost sadomasochistic in his intentions and one might question his disturbing background and racial complex as reasons for such tendencies. Obscenity and NEA (National Endowments for the Arts) controversies Considering the nature of the contents chosen by both Mapplethorpe and Serrano and their graphic way of presentation, their works sometimes tend to look obscene. An over large flaccid penis dangling from the fly of a suited man (Levinson, 1990; Kidd, 2003), Lyon pinching her nipples and a crucified Christ sunk in urine are not only disturbing images but also against the tried and tested realm of art that demands a little more sophistication. There have been countless protests against the photographs of both the photographers of receiving government funding or the NEA, who however have remained unperturbed. A lot of mud slinging and controversy occurred regarding NEA’s intentions in granting funds for exhibiting their photos (Salisbury, 1994). Serrano even called himself ‘a conceptual artist with a camera’ (Serrano quoted in Elie, 1995) but this did not save him from the criticisms and threat calls. As far as obscenity is concerned there have been arguments and counter arguments that raised the basic question of how far an artist can take freedom of expression for granted? Some critics have called them outrageous and some vulgar. It is also remarked that the photographers have captured pornography in art (Abbe, 2004). The validity of such claims cannot be judged but the fact remains that Mapplethorpe and Serrano did exploit the full range of the artist’s free spirit. Conclusion In conclusion it could be said that just like any other path breaking minds Mapplethorpe and Serrano too would be appreciated for all their apparently vulgar depictions, generations later. They were born ahead of their times. The artistic creativity, uniqueness of conceptualization and reproducing it in print are proofs of creative genius. Moreover the desire and the courage to take up tabooed topics and transforming them into art deserve accolade. References Abbe, M (2004). Controversial classicist; A new show of Robert Mapplethorpe photos dodges controversy to tout tradition. Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Celant, G (1993). Robert Mapplethorpe: Man in a Polyester Suit. Artforum International. Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Elie, P (1995). Andres Serrano on view. Commonweal. Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Hackett, R (1998). Serrano’s `Unacceptable photographs are troubling yet filled with grace. Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA). Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Hartigan, P (1991). Andres Serrano: photographic rebel. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Kidd, D (2003). Mapplethorpe and the new obscenity. Afterimage. Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Levinson, D, A (1990). Robert Mapplethorpe’s Extraordinary Vision. The Tech, 110 (31). Retrieved 13th December 2008 from http://tech.mit.edu/V110/N31/mapple.31a.html O’Hara, D (1995). Andres Serrano Finds Critical Fame at Last. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Salisbury, S (1994). Photographer Serrano wants all to see his work, not controversy, in exhibit. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Retrieved 12th December 2008 from High Beam Research Read More