Robert Mapplethorpe : Polaroids

'Haunting, provocative and insightful, this book is a must for all fans' - Irish Tatler

A richly illustrated book exploring Robert Mapplethorpe's formative years as an artist

Critically praised for his finely modelled and classically composed photographs, Robert Mapplethorpe remains intensely controversial and enormously popular. This book brings together almost three hundred images from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation's archive and private collections, to provide a critical view of Mapplethorpe's formative years as an artist. These works reveal the themes that would inspire Mapplethorpe throughout his career.

Included is a selection of his colour Polaroids and objects incorporating his early "instant" photography. Some images convey a disarming tenderness and vulnerability, others a toughness and immediacy that would give way in later years to more classical form. The author traces the development of Mapplethorpe's use of instant photography during a period of five years, from 1970 to 1975, when the artist worked mainly in this medium.

The images include self-portraits, figure studies, still lifes, portraits of lovers and friends such as Patti Smith, Sam Wagstaff and Marianne Faithful and observations of everyday objects. Marked by a spontaneity and creative curiosity, these fragile images offer an illuminating contrast to the glossy perfection of the work for which Mapplethorpe is best known, allowing us a more personal glimpse of his artistry. 

Details

• Author: Sylvia Wolf
• Paperback: 256 pages | 230 illustrations
• Date published: July 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN: 978-3791348704
• Product Dimensions:  22.9 x 18.0 cm