From: Monica Mitchell (kore54@hotmail.com)
Date: 11/03/00-04:04:07 PM Z
>C'mon, folks. To include Mapplethorpe in a list of the 5 photographers
>that
>affected the medium to the greatest degree? That's just silly, and an
>insult to Gene Smith, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, etc. THESE are the
>artists
>that ought to be spoken of, if one has to present a "capsule summary".
And I believe that could be considered
*your opinion*, which is fine,
but don't degredate someone else's
beliefs because you don't agree with them.
>Monica, I am VERY familiar with Mapplethorpe's work. I bought a photograph
>of Patti Smith that he made back when she was still his roomate.
So, I suppose that makes you the expert then.
>He's talented with a camera and strobe, but no more so that hundreds of
>other studio photographers. And the capture of "black skin" is more of an
>accomplishment for Tom Baril, who did his printing.
I think we all know that you
can't do anything with a thin neg.
It takes some amount of skill,
and some knowledge of zone system,
in order to get texture in both
high and low lights.
>As for his "controversial" subject matter, gay sexual practices where
captured on film before and after Mapplethorpe. I've always felt that most
of these works are his most awkward: the activities lack any looseness or
passion, they appear stilted and posed. Mind-blowing, its not.
And how many of those other "controversial"
artists/images were as memorable?
Monica
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : 12/01/00-11:46:55 AM Z CST