Mapplethorpe - Rodin
dal 7/4/2014 al 20/9/2014
Segnalato da
7/4/2014
Mapplethorpe - Rodin
Rodin Museum, Paris
There would appear to be little similarity between these two renowned figures, even though Mapplethorpe continually sought to sculpt the body through photography and Rodin used photography throughout his career. The exhibition presents 50 sculptures by Rodin and a collection of 102 photos by Robert Mapplethorpe, in a bold dialogue revealing the enduring nature of these great artists' favourite themes and subjects.
“I see things like they were sculptures. It depends on how that form exists within the space”.
Robert Mapplethorpe
In a single exhibition, the Musée Rodin brings together two forms of expression – Sculpture and
Photography – through the works of two major artists: Robert Mapplethorpe and Auguste Rodin. Thanks
to exceptional loans from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, this exhibition presents 50 sculptures by
Rodin and a collection of 102 photographs, in a bold dialogue revealing the enduring nature of these
great artists’ favourite themes and subjects.
There would appear to be little similarity between these two renowned figures, even though
Mapplethorpe continually sought to sculpt the body through photography and Rodin used photography
throughout his career.
Robert Mapplethorpe sought the perfect form, while Rodin attempted to capture a sense of movement in
inanimate materials. There is no spontaneity in Mapplethorpe’s work, everything is constructed, whereas
Rodin retains the traces of his touch and takes advantage of the accidental. One was attracted to men,
the other to women, obsessively in both cases. But this did not stop Mapplethorpe from photographing
female nudes, or Rodin from sculpting many male bodies.
Here, however, the differences between these two artists are instantly transformed into an unexpected
dialogue. The curators have chosen seven themes, common to the work of both, revealing connections
in form, theme and aesthetic. Movement and Tension, Black and White/Light and Shadow, Eroticism
and Damnation are just some of the major issues running through the works of the two artists.
This exhibition invites visitors to challenge the dialogue established by the curators, and to make their
own comparisons. This “sculpture and photography” approach is unprecedented in a sculpture museum
such as the Rodin museum. It’s the the first time such a confrontation has been presented at the musée
Rodin, and looks at both photography and sculpture from a new angle.
In parallel with this, the Réunion des musées nationaux is organising a Mapplethorpe retrospective at
the Grand Palais, from 26 March to 13 July 2014.
Exhibition curators
Hélène Pinet, Head of Photography Collections at the Musée Rodin
Judith Benhamou-Huet, Art critic and journalist
Hélène Marraud, Assistant curator, responsible for sculptures at the Musée Rodin
Catalogue
Text by Helène Pinet, Hélène Marraud, Judith Benhamou-Huet, Jonathan Nelson
| 22 x 28 cm | 256 p. | 200 color.ill.| Éditions du musée Rodin / Actes Sud | 2014 | about 40 €
Image: Robert Mapplethorpe, Michael Reed, 1987, 1728. Credit Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
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