From April 22, Kunsthal Rotterdam presented a major retrospective of Robert Mapplethorpe’s work. To mark the occasion, the Dutch television programme Het Uur van de Wolf broadcast the documentary Mapplethorpe – Look at the Pictures on April 27.
The only thing more extravagant than the photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989) was his own life. The American artist was obsessed with becoming famous and stopped at nothing. Sex was his other obsession, and here too he was limitless and unabashed, both in his own experience and in the explicit photographs he made. The documentary Mapplethorpe – Look at the Pictures clearly shows why his work was so controversial and why Mapplethorpe’s immense charisma made him so popular with many people.
Mapplethorpe became famous for his sensitive, direct style of photography. His photographs were often black and white and highly stylised. The film’s title was not only an invitation to look at Mapplethorpe’s photographs, but also a statement made by an appalled homophobic senator who tried to shut down an exhibition of the photographer’s work in 1989. “I don’t see what could be shocking about it,” Mapplethorpe said. “I don’t think sex is dirty.” One of his best-known photographs, ‘Man in Polyester Suit’ sold for $2,500 during the exhibition. In 2015, it fetched $390,000 at auction.
Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato interviewed numerous friends, colleagues, neighbours, and lovers of Mapplethorpe. They were photographed in colour with a Hasselblad, the distinctive camera Mapplethorpe used to make his black-and-white photographs.
The film offers a fascinating glimpse into New York’s art scene in the ’70s and ’80s, which included figures such as Patti Smith, Andy Warhol, and Fran Lebowitz.
It is also remarkable that Mapplethorpe himself can be heard in several old audio recordings, speaking candidly and at length about his life, his lovers, and his desire for fame. Shortly before his death in 1989, he appointed his own biographer. “You have to tell her everything,” he told a friend in his final request. “Keep my memory alive.”
Mapplethorpe – Look at the Pictures was selected for IDFA 2016. The documentary had previously been broadcast by NTR on December 1, 2016.
From April 22 to August 27, 2017, Kunsthal Rotterdam presented a major retrospective of the life and work of Robert Mapplethorpe.
Directors: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato
Producer: Film Manufacturers Inc.
