Today I went to Spazio Forma, Milan, because I wanted to see the expo of Robert Mapplethorpe work. I was completely ignorant about the man and the work. Moreover, I went there full of prejudice.
Even the first room, containing his first shots of his friends and lovers was not telling me that much. Not to talking about his self-portrait with whip rammed up in his you have clearly understand what.
But then, something happened -I don't know whether in his life or just in the exhibitions- and even the most pornographic shots started becoming -to me- the real research of perfection.
No matter for the numerous still-life about the male you have clearly understand what: that's perfection, and now I'm convinced about this.
He was born in 1949, in Queens. He got his first Polaroid in 1970. He died in 1989.
Everything stay in the middle of these dates. Perfection is the fil rouge of all his work.
He was looking for something that could be a sculpture, no matter for the subject (flowers, nudes, children, friends, actors…) the body is at the center. Even in his still-life research of flowers you can clearly see the power of the nature, that humanizes the subject. So flowers and you have clearly understand what do have the same weight in his work and for the results he obtains. Simply amazing… nothing to add.
this should be "Thomas" 1987
Spazio Forma is a wonderful center for Photography, obtained from part of a space once used by the Milan Public Transport Society. You can still see the modern part of that, still working, from a tall and narrow window in the main room. It's always a strange but interesting effect when you are brought back to reality by that. It's like a pause in your artistic walk through the pictures.
Good exhibition,
Good space,
Good morning - spent there!
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