Robert Mapplethorpe (November 4, 1946 - March 9, 1986), New York City, 1983. Polaroid by Andy Warhol

Robert Mapplethorpe (November 4, 1946 - March 9, 1986), New York City, 1983. Polaroid by Andy Warhol, @thegetty. Mapplethorpe, whose work portrayed intense and controversial subjects in the intimate and comfortable setting of black and white photography, helped place homoerotic imagery as high art and fueled a national debate over public funding of the arts. Mapplethorpe’s friendships and collaborations with visionaries like Andy Warhol, Joan Armatrading, Grace Jones, and Patti Smith, among others, and his unashamed celebration of gay sexuality brought the imagery of New York’s underground BDSM scene to national prominence. As Smith later wrote, “Robert took areas of dark human consent and made them into art. He worked without apology, investing the homosexual with grandeur, masculinity, and enviable nobility.” Mapplethorpe died of AIDS-related illness on March 9, 1986; he was thirty-nine. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #gay #bi #trans #lesbian #poz #pride #andywarhol #pattismith #robertmapplethorpe #toosoongone #neverforget #neveragain #shouldersofgiants (at New York, New York) -- source link

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