Robert Mapplethorpe and Analysis of His Works

Created mainly during the late 1970s and 1980s, the photographic images of Robert Mapplethorpe were primarily erotic images that celebrated the human physique, both male and female, in all its naked, and too many, shocking, glory. During the 1980s, Mapplethorpe's works created enormous controversy for their shocking and graphic eroticism, particularly among the Religious Right and the conservative Reagan Administration. A homosexual who eventually succumbed to AIDS, Mapplethorpe's works were always driven by his intensely personal erotic fascinations but they increasingly served as political and social commentary toward the end of his life. This analysis will use three of Mapplethorpe's works to show his tendency toward eroticism combined with social commentary as a means of shocking through his images.

The works of Robert Mapplethorpe

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Category: Arts - R