From the archive: Robert + His women as “Pure visual treats” in Robert Mapplethorpe: Certain People
I have decided to take a look back at my favorite papers from my time in graduate school. Many of these detail intracacies from my fieldwork that did not fit into my final thesis, others explore other things. They are not perfect. But they are the foundation from which I continue to grow and learn. I have decided to be proud of them. One per week in the month of May. Enjoy.
Robert + His women as “Pure visual treats” in Robert Mapplethorpe: Certain People
Photographs chosen from collection:
Patti Smith (Horses) 1975
Patti Smith (Wave) 1979
Caterine Milinaire, 1976
Caterine Milinaire, 1979
Holly Solomon, 1976
Key Words:
Gender-neutrality, order, partnership
I chose to analyze Robert Mapplethorpe through his portraits of four women in Certain People. Tracy Valcourt says, “My favorites are his portraits of women which, through pose and gaze, seem to imitate human potential in actualization” (Valcourt 2017). These portraits highlight three main concepts of Robert Mapplethorpe’s positionality behind the camera; order, gender-neutrality, and partnership.
Robert was vocal about his dislike for candid photography. In his interview with Gary Indiana he gave an example of photographing Mick Jagger backstage telling a secret. He said he felt “so awful” about documenting that moment (Indiana, 1988). He preferred organized work in his studio. He told Janet Kardon, “the work is very direct, I try not to have anything in the picture that is questionable.” (Kardon 1989, 28). The simplicity of the location of these portraits is intentional and everything we see in them is supposed to be present. He said in another era he would have done sculpture and he saw photography as modern sculpture. His portrait of Holly Solomon, stretched out on a bed with a cigarette, is reminiscent of a Roman sculpture. Holly is dressed in pajamas, her head thrown back. The folds of her pajamas resemble marble. I found a sequence of three pictures, the first two of her getting into that position and then the third, featured in the collection. Robert’s choice to use the third photograph indicates even more his attention to order and the camera as a tool. He was able to take quick snapshots and then chose a sculpture-esque portrait of euphoria for his collection.
The female portraits in Certain People do not showcase femininity. “These images work to show the women as complex individuals holding stories in their bodies, rather than as archetypes or caricatures as they are often portrayed by less sensitive or more commercial artists” (Valcourt 2017). The theme of sexual plurality relates directly to Robert’s exploration of his own sexuality. “Mapplethorpe always attempts, consciously or unconsciously, to resolve the dichotomies between opposites” (Celant 2004, 38). In the 1976 of Caterine Milinaire, her clothes hang off and shadows cover much of her make-up free face. The 1979 portrait is a simple profile of her in a fedora and a trench coat. In each of these, there is a sense of androgyny. The focus of the two portraits is not on the feminine aspects of her body, but on the story in her face, the light, and the textures. He saw his subjects as beings with histories and he captured these nuances, rather than placing them in cliché gendered poses.
Robert had a preference to photograph those with whom he had a relationship. When he discussed his role behind the camera he said, “part of being a photographer is knowing when the subject is exhausted…the pictures taken at the moment the subject feels most comfortable are the best. (Kardon 1989, 24). Robert saw himself as a partner rather than a voyeur (Celant 2004). When commenting on the pictures of Patti Smith, his closest friend, Robert said, “I’ve always taken great pictures of Patti Smith. It’s like taking drugs, you’re at an abstract place and its perfect” (Kardon 1989, 27). The two portraits of her taken in 1976 and 1979 featured in Certain People were album covers. The 1976 portrait features Patti staring right at the camera against a white wall, in black pants, a white button up and suspenders. The 1979 portrait features a closer shot of her face, she is dressed in a white dress amid plants. Smith in Just Kids said, “Robert was concerned with how to photograph, I was concerned with how to be the photograph” (Smith 2010, 191). Robert captured her wild hair, lean stature, and resilience. These features were more than appearance, they represented her character and youth that he intimately knew from her stories and their years in NYC together (Smith 2010). From these images you find that Robert understood much more than a good angle.
Each portrait in Certain People was planned, yet there was something raw about what was captured. Patti described the day that took the shot for Horses, which seems to sum up the essence of his work. It was overcast and they waited until almost sundown for the light. They ran to their location to catch the light. He said, “I got it” after just 12 shots. Patti asked how he knew and he said, “I just know” (Smith 2010, 251). Patti says that when she looks at the magic one they selected “I never see me. I see us” (Smith 2010, 251). His purpose was to create a sculpture-like portraits of the subject, allowing them to display some part of themselves. Was the part he captured “truth?” When asked Robert said, “It’s my truth, so it’s not a lie to me” (Kardon 1989, 27). Thus, the story of layered human identities and Robert’s own striving for order seen in the portraits of Certain People, tell Robert’s memories as he wanted to remember them.
Works Cited
Celant, Germano, Arkady Ippolitov, Karole Vail, Elizabeth Franzen, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ausstellung Robert Mapplethorpe and Classical Tradtion eds. 2004. Robert Mapplethorpe and the Classical Tradition: Photographs and Mannerist Prints; [Published on the Occasion of the Exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe and the Classical Tradition: Photographs and Mannerist Prints ; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, July 24 - October 17, 2004 ; State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, December 8, 2004 - January 16, 2005 ; Moscow House of Photography, January 21 - March 10, 2005 ; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, July 1 - August 24, 2005]. New York, NY: Guggenheim Museum.
Indiana, Gary, and Robert Mapplethorpe. 1988. “Robert Mapplethorpe.” BOMB 22: 18–23.
Kardon, Janet, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Joselit, and Kay Larson. 1989. Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.
Mapplethorpe, Robert. 1985. Certain People: A Book of Portraits. 1st ed. Pasadena, Calif: Twelvetrees Press.
Smith, Patti. 2010. Just Kids. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Valcourt, Tracy. 2017. “Robert Mapplethorpe.” Border Crossings 34 (December).
Images: Robert Mapplethorpe (via google)
