Product Description

This major, long out-of-print survey, widely regarded as the definitive overview of Mapplethorpe's black-and-white photography, is once again available in a new, updated edition. It presents a comprehensive selection of Mapplethorpe's nudes, portraits, self-portraits, floral still lifes and other works, including his best known and most controversial images. Mapplethorpe's choices were both innovative and bold, and his work has continued to resonate since his early death in 1989. His cutting-edge use of homoerotic and other challenging themes has become embedded in our culture, with pervasive echoes not only in the work of other artists but in mainstream advertising as well.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #294092 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-13
• Released on: 2007-09-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 382 pages

From the Publisher
· A must-have for anyone interested in contemporary photography

· Includes the well-known and highly regarded essay by philosopher and art critic Arthur C. Danto

About the Author
Robert Mapplethorpe was born in 1946 and raised in Long Island, New York. He received a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. By the early 1980s, he challenged the definition of photography with new techniques and formats. Mapplethorpe: The Complete Flowers (978-3-8327-9168-1) was his first book published by teNeues.

Customer Reviews

A good collection showing a range of photo types.
This book is LARGE! Very large. It is approximately 12" square, like a vinyl LP record, and comes in a tough card outer sleeve or box, thus keeping the actual book itself free from damage. I don't know exactly how much it weighs, but I suspect that it must be 3-4 Kg, so if you order it warn your postman! The images are all B&W.

It is also large in terms of content, there being some 600-odd images presented. There is an intoxicating range of photographs spreading over many years of Mapplethorpe's work and many genres. I have always found his flower portraits the most inspiring and they are here in plenty although regrettably none in colour. Obviously there also the formal portraits, the pictures of large male genitalia, pictures of Patti Smith (who is she, anyway?), a large number of self portraits, and many others.

This is NOT a book of sex images although there are few that are 'close to the mark', rather a collection of more of Mapplethorpe's more artistic ventures. Of all, I was much struck by the simple (polaroid) image of a young man on page 25, simple called "Untitled, 1974".

There is a superb essay by Arthur C. Danto explaining much of the controversy surrounding this photographer, along with a very full catalogue of Mapplethorpe's work, his books, exhibitions, and a bibliography of those who have written about or included his works.

Very good value for money if you are a fan.

Worth the expense but a bit disappointing
While this handsome, exceptionally made collection of Mapplethorpe photography is certainly worth its cost, the editors have done a disservice to the artist by eliminating the framing effects Mapplethorpe created to off-set his own work, and thus sometimes robbing individual images of their ultimately intended impact. Worse still, these particular reproductions generally eliminate the sepia, blue-ish, or silvery tones of the original works and consequently misrepresent the artist's intent. Those who are established admires of Mapplethorpe will be impressed by this book; those who have not previously seen his work, however, will probably wonder what all the artistic fuss was about.

A more varied collection of photographs you will never see
Ranging from graphic depictions of gay sex to portraits of little girls and flowers, Robert Mapplethorpe was all over the artistic map. This collection of his work is magnificent in its scope, frequently shocking, and ultimately very beautiful. The more extreme photographs have a tenderness to them, and the seemingly harmless photos generate an edginess that's hard to shake. Simultaneously devoted to a strict sense of formalism and composition and to forging a new iconography of homosexuality, it's easy to see why Mapplethorpe provoked so much controversy in his time. The many portraits of celebrities are perhaps the least interesting photos in the book, but add a certain classiness to the proceedings. A must-have for any fan of transgressive or technically accomplished photography.