The intent of this essay is to compare and contrast the work of two brilliant and equally controversial twentieth century photographers.

From their work we can observe that Mapplethorpe and Serrano have common characteristics,both within their subject matter and their social backgrounds, however, for all of their similarities there are chasmic differences in their mode of expression. Serrano parodies his Catholic upbringing through distorted images of the Church whilst Mapplethorpe uses predominantly stark sexual imagery to disassociate himself from his staunch religious background and to explore his own homosexuality.

Robert Mapplethorpe: "Self-portrait"

Since his death as a result of AIDS much has been written of Mapplethorpes use of;

"The exquisite tonal qualities of the platinum print and controlled studio lighting."¹

These techniques were used to excentuate the contrast in light on his physical forms. Mapplethorpe was fascinated by high society and also with societies more criminal elements, this fascination has lead to a comparison between himself and Charles Baudelaire;

"In the New York ghetto Mapplethorpe observed a spectacle like that of the Paris underworld like that described 100 years earlier by Baudelaire. In this fashionable parade of sinners, Baudelaire identified two heroes of modern life that would make worthy subjects of modern art: the dandy and the criminal. Mapplethorpe portrayed himself as both, thereby disrupting social boundaries and erasing his own parochial origins."²

Mapplethorpes contemporaries and critics recognised the importance he played on social comparisons. In an article from 'Art in America' Stephen Koch defines Mapplethorpes work as;

"The line between New York squalor and New York glamour, between its' (the portraits) upper intelligencia and lower bohemia."³

The glamour aspect of Mapplethorpes work can be viewed through his many portraits of New York socialites, among them celebrities such as; Donald Sutherland (1983), Patti Smith (1975), Warhol, Marriane Faithful, Dorris Sacchi, Lord Snowdon, Iggy Pop and Jasper Conran. This is in contrast with his sadomasochistic and homo-erotic imagery such as; 'Man In A Polyester Suit' (1981), which is referred to as his;

"most celebrated though far from most sensational bit of phallus fascinated bad-boyism."⁴

Some of Mapplethorpes earlier work showed his interest in directly confronting his Catholic upbringing, not through his later use of sexual imagery but through a parody of religious icons. This can be seen in 'Tie Rack' (1969) described as;

"the Virgin Mary altered with scratchings on the image framed by an X and a couple of neck ties."⁵

Mapplethorpes is not alone in his parody of Catholicism as this is a common theme in the work of Andres Serrano. Serrano most controversial image is that of 'Piss Christ' (1987). An effigy of Christ crucified immersed in the artists own urine. Other religious comparisons can be drawn between
Mapplethorpes image of 'Francesco Clementi' (1982), an AIDS sufferer who was positioned in a pose reflective of the 'Sacred Heart of Jesus' effigy, and Serranos 'The Morgue - AIDS Related Death' (1992), who's AIDS victim again has a Christ like pose.

Andres Serrano: Piss Christ (1987)

Much of the artists work has been deemed controversial, both being labelled 'blasphemous' and/or 'pornographic'. Although both artists saw their work as contemporary art in some cases the 'establishment' does not agree with this. Serrano himself, has said;

"There is always a fine line between exploration and exploitation, especially in art."⁶

The establishment took exception to the photographic imagery of both Serrano and Mapplethorpe, this can be seen as a reflection of 80's American political values. The 80's saw an increase in Christian Fundamentalism and Right Wing politics, President Ronald Regans election campaign was itself supported by Christian zealots. With this began an;

"all out opposition to cultural expression emanating from the new social alliances formed around issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orrientation."⁷

Thus began the "Age of Regan"⁸.

The works of Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe were seen by their opponents as a representation of societies slow destruction, however, this can be seen as, "blaming the messenger for the message"⁹. This moral backlash created problems for both the artists and those representing them.

The controversy surrounding Serranos 'Piss Christ' and the later cancellation of Mapplethorpes 'The Perfect Moment' from the Corcoran Gallery in Washington created problems for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). SECCA which is funded by the NEA was itself funding both Serrano and Mapplethorpe, this resulted in protests from the American Family Association and later chaos on the Senate floor, with Senator Alphonse D'Amato, "in a Hitlerite tirade"¹⁰, ripping up Serranos catalogue and Senator Jesse Helms referring to Serrano as a 'Jerk'. Over 100 members of Congress sent a petition to the NEA accusing the organisation of sponsoring blasphemous and pornographic works of art.

"The House of representatives underlined the incredible pettiness behind the entire uproar by deleting $45,000 from the NEA appropriation, supposedly the amount spent supporting the two 'offending' artists."¹¹

As a direct result of the unwelcomed attention from Conservative moralists Serranos NEA approved grant was later revoked by a majority vote of 16 to 4. Serrano was convinced that this was a politically motivated action. Mapplethorpe (although by this time dead), faired worse, with seven of his pieces - taken out of context - being placed on trial as obscene in a Cincinatti court. The moralists did not however, win the day, Mapplethorpes photographs where deemed not to be obscene. Serrano also managed a victory;

"In a strange way works of art where used as counteradvertisements for politicians and religious groups lacking strong representation of their own. Serrano himself was aware of the dependency model, saying of Jesse Helmes, 'I helped him in some ways and he helped me: he got re-elected and I became who I am.'"¹²

Both artists concern themselves with icons of one type or another, Serrano tended towards the religious, death, white male supremacy and the Patriarchal society. Although many of Mapplethorpes also related to men, these were predominantly of a homo-erotic nature. Mapplethorpe photographed the male body in Olympian perfection.

"Mapplethorpes use of the camera to create neo-classical nudes and also autobiographical self-portraits points to the importance of the manufactured image in American life during the second half of thetwentieth century."¹³

His photographs of the male physique was enhanced by his use of lighting as referred to previously, and also his use of contrasting ethnicity's. His two main male models were the white Robert Sherman and the black Ken Moody, each appeared in individual photographs but are most remembered for the series of images they did together. Their most memorable being 'Ken Moody and Robert Sherman' (1984). The image is striking in that Moody appears to almost blend into the dark background, whilst Shermans unnatural pallor dominates the print. Most of Mapplethorpes males are anonymous images; men with their heads cropped out of the frame. All that is then important to Mapplethorpe is the body's physical and sexual presence;

"Men are put on pedestals, their sex organs displayed as conspicuously as possible in one memorable picture, an exceptionally well endowed black male stands naked, in a stylised pose, with a cloth sack over his head."¹⁴

Mapplethorpes imagery is that of men as sexual objects, not as living entities.

Serrano also had an intense relationship with colour which allowed him to show to greatest effect his work with body fluids. His obsession with colour was most pronounced when photographing blood, the colours were more vibrant than natural. This unnatural quality was also true of his male figures to whom he imparted an almost supernatural quality. Serranos series of images of the Klu klux Klan on one hand bestows them with a supreme right, whilst also portraying them in a less than favourable light. This is achieved through stark black backgrounds and through the subject dominating the entirety of the frame.Their imperfections are visible but so is their malice.

In his series entitled 'The Morgue' Serrano explores the body in death through disturbing images of corpses. His explicit details being far removed from deaths traditional serene and sacrosanct state. Serrano tries to alienate himself and his photographs from the reality of death as he immortalises it as a photographer. Serrano himself says;

"You can learn to keep a clinical distance, so that nothing can bother you, not even the smells - and they are the worst, the most horrific and disturbing thing in the morgue."¹⁵

Although Serrano himself keeps a clinical distance from the subject his photography, in these images, posses a beauty more in keeping with fashion photography. This forces the viewer into an almost voyeuristic state compelling them to view the image for its aesthetic quality. Serranos morgue pictures have been commented on by Bruce Furguson as;

"Too elegant for the police photographer, and yet too relentlessly factual for the artist. They have been castigated as exploitative, yet these pictures could not be further from the voyeuristic curiosity one senses at a roadside accident. They are bigger, more explicit and more naked than anything we've seen. They are, if anything a dare."¹⁶

Serrano uses classical ecclesiastic images to place his photography at a level with the Church. His use of the religious image allows his subjects to transcend death as in his use of the stigmata in 'Rat poison Suicide II' (1992). In the morgue series Serrano capitalises on his mastery of colour to ease the deads journey;

"He (Serrano) exquisitely matches the lilac drape to the still warm tones of the face in 'Pneumonia Due To Drowning II', picking up the faint purple that is beginning to appear inside the child's lips."¹⁷

Serrano captures so closely the essence of their lives that; "If it where not for the title, we would never know they're dead."¹⁸

For as much as Serrano distances himself from the subject matter Mapplethorpe uses his imagery to explore himself;

"As a photographer he is the rebel provocateur, the decadent aesthete the master of romantic elegance. Mapplethorpe is not trying on disguises so much as seeking possible selves, projecting variant images of an inner landscape, experimenting with small fictions, locating a larger truth."¹⁹

Mapplethorpe sees life as transient, his photographs aim to capture an image before its demise. To this end he photographs his subjects at the height of their perfection;

"Mapplethorpe chose to denigh these organic processes of release, the particularities of decay by freeze-framing the moment just before orgasm... - Mapplethorpe makes the fleeting moment timeless, dry and rigid."²⁰

^{Robert Mapplethorpe.}

As well as capturing natural beauty at its peak in human form Mapplethorpe also used vivid colours to capture flowers at their most perfect moment;

"Flowers reveals Mapplethorpes genius with colours from the hot-house orchid to the cool-tempered tulip, he handles his pallet with utter precision."²¹

Mapplethorpe imparts into his flowers an almost human sexuality, his choice of flower cannot be seen as unintentional. 'Calla Lilly' (1988) has been described as;

"Tinged with menace, lushly coloured, wholly erotic: a suggestively engorged pistil protruding from its delicate white flesh. There is an implicit relation: between beauty, desire, danger."²²

During his life Mapplethorpe, like Serrano has enjoyed notoriety from both public acknowledgement and public disdain. However, since his death and the subsequent trial of his work, Mapplethorpe has become, on the whole, excepted by the establishment which he had previously shocked. Now Mapplethorpes work is more popular than ever, having established itself with both homosexual and mainstream art culture. Today his previously banned works are available to all through the Internet and CD ROM. This said, the establishment is not averse to the occasional lapse - with the recent censoring of Mapplethorpes work at the Hayward Gallery in London. Perhaps what is most appealing about both artists work is that they personify the dark subconscious that we all possess;

"From flowers to phalluses to whips and chains and unhappy Manhattenites trussed up on torture racks, Mapplethorpe carries his audience step by probing step deeper into his utopia of anonymity, testing not only the audiences willingness to follow but also the power of his own exceedingly excellent graphic imagination to reconcile that audience (and his own eye as an artist) to the shameful and nasty preoccupations which rule in that world."²³

Until the day he dies we will not know whether Andres Serrano will also achieve the same level of notoriety and grudging acceptance bestowed on Robert Mapplethorpe.

Bibliography

1, 2 & 13 Andree Flageolle - Mapplethorpe & Baudelaire - History of Photography (Winter 1995)

3, 4,14 & 23 Stephen Koch - Art in America (November 1986)

5 & 20 Arts Magazine (Summer 1989)

6 & 15 Adam LeBor - Andres Serrano

7, 8, 9, 16, 17, & 18 Bruce Furguson - Serrano: Invisible Power

10, 11 & 12 Gary In diana - Art Forum (September 1989)

21 Graffis (November/December 1991)

22 Art News (December 1988)