la historia del arte

Robert Mapplethorpe, Ajitto, Gelatin silver print, 1981.

You may find that this artist, Robert Mapplethorpe seems to objectify the black male nude figure by photographing him in such a way that his beauty entrances the viewer. In this case, the viewer is only attracted aesthetically, possibly sexually, and the subject is left without a voice or any form of agency. This argument presents the duality of “seen and being seen.”*

The photographer, a white male, invites the intended white male viewer to gaze upon the many African-American males Mapplethorpe photographed. In relation to skin color, the artist’s presence along with the model’s physicality can be considered somewhat paradoxical because of the “polarized terms of racial identity” - white and black skin. However, intended viewer, artist and subject share the same gender, which is male. This has been interpreted by some as a “fetishization of black skin;”* the white male viewer sees a nude, black male form and is intrigued by the aesthetic quality of the photograph, and thus the subject has been homo-eroticized.

In addition to this objectification, the white male photographer exerts control over how the photograph is set up and taken. This, in turn further objectifies the black male by the photographer’s ability to represent the subject matter in whatever way he deems correct or artistic. Once again, the black male’s voice is detracted, therefore influencing the viewer’s perception of the greater black male persona - nameless and voiceless; to be seen and not heard.

**Argument as discussed presented by: Mercer, Kobena. Black British Cultural Studies: a reader. Just Looking for Trouble: Robert Mapplethorpe and Fantasies of Race. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1996.