3/3-The Body

I thought our discussions about Robert Mapplethorpe were interesting because his portraits reminded me about several statues from Greek history like Octavius and Augustus. His photographs of the African-American male looked similar to the ancient marble statues yet his skin color was black. In this way, Mapplethorpe brings back the Greek form of sculpture into more modern times. Knowing Mapplethorpe’s sexual association, I wondered if he might have had a relationship with this man because it seems that he has several photographs of him. I begin to wonder what every photographer’s relationship is with their subjects. Sometimes it is easier to tell than others through the name of the piece, but other times it is more difficult. It is the same way with paintings. I wonder why artists choose to paint certain people or places over others. Mapplethorpe also has his subjects lay or stand in specific positions which appear to be either statuesque or sexual.