VISUAL ART
FOR THE LATEST NEWS, LISTINGS AND
REVIEWS, GO TO LIST.CO.UK /VISUALART
M A P P L E T H O R P E
F O U N D A T O N 2 0 1 4
I
.
P H O T O :
I
I
A R T S T R O O M S T A T E A N D N A T O N A L G A L L E R E S O F S C O T L A N D
I
. L E N T B Y
T H E R O B E R T
SELF EVIDENCE Three tragic fi gures of 20th century photography captured beautifully The works of Francesca Woodman, Diane Arbus and Robert Mapplethorpe are touchstones for any major gallery that wishes to explore the edgier side of 20th century photographic history. The images on display in Self Evidence focus upon these American artists’ own self-referencing work, and play not just upon their complementary styles, but also on the sense of societal change which each refl ected. own presence before the lens. While none of the ten Arbus studies on display feature her, the fact they combine as her ‘A Box of Ten Photographs’ series says much about how she wished to be viewed as an artist.
Among them, Robert Mapplethorpe appears to love the camera the most, meeting its gaze and performing emphatically for it. Boldly, the show’s curation has allowed for that infamous shot in which he inserts the handle of a whip into himself, but it doesn’t affect the tone of a well-selected and staged triptych of mini exhibitions. The sense of youthful creative energy, challenging of 20th century social norms, and sadness around the fi nal circumstances of each life fuse together beautifully. (David Pollock) ■ Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sun 20 Oct ●●●●●
All three died tragically young, and all found their heyday occurring during the seismic period between the 1960s and the 1980s. Woodman often shot in derelict, post-industrial spaces or raw, unadorned residential rooms, and most of these candid black-and-whites concentrate on a contemplation of her own nudity or in long-exposure shots where she appears to be trying to alter or erase her
1 Jun–31 Aug 2019 THE LIST 125