What is the Mapplethorpe exhibition?
The exhibition Mapplethorpe or Mapplethorpe photographs contributed to one of the most controversial art exhibitions in modern history. The series of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe called "X Portfolio" included Frank's depictions of sexual acts considered offensive and pornographic. Include Mapplethorpe photographs into a traveling exhibition funded by the United States National Foundation (NeA) has triggered a huge debate on art parameters in America and whether public funds should be used for controversial material.
was born in 1946 and raised on Long Island in New York, Robert Mapplethorpe won a bachelor's degree from the Pratt Institute of New York. His attention moved to the photo after graduation. Mapplethorpe increased to popularity at the end of the 70s and early 80s, especially for his work photography of celebrities. Although its typical objects included flowers, formal portraits of aklasic naked photograph, Mapplethorpe was also interested in photographing homoErotic actions and depiction of slavery and sado-masochism.
In 1990, shortly after the photographer died of AIDS, Nea funded an exhibition of art called "Perfect moment". The display, greatly called the Mapplethorpe exhibition, included a retrospective of the artist's work. The controversial nature of some Mapplethorpe photography inspired furiousness in the American Congress, where a group of congressmen began to lobby for serious cuts in the Nea budget. Nea feared political retribution and canceled the exhibition that held the Washington project for art instead.
Mapplethorpe exhibition launched a sociopolitical debate across America about the nature of art and whether the government of sponsored work should be subject to standards. Congress removed $ 45,000 from US dollars (USD) from the NeA budget, an approximately amount that financed the Mapplethorpe exhibition and similarly protested the exhibition of artist Andres Serran. Congress as wellHe approved the requirement in the NeA Grant process that would eliminate money for projects that were considered an obscene nature. Many artists considered this vague amendment comparable to censorship and some began to refuse grants Nea on the basis of the organization allowing art censorship.
Today, the exhibition Mapplethorpe remains a serious source of controversy throughout the Washington D.C and the art world. While supporters argue that the first amendment guarantees the right to freedom of expression, critics suggest that while artists have this right, government funding does not guarantee. The Mapplethorpe exhibition also became the highlight of the old question of what art precisely. This question, although exhausting is explored in scientific texts and term newspapers, can never be answered and will probably appear again and again until the freedom should show their work.