[MAPPLETHORPE] SMITH, Patti. / MAPPLETHORPE, Robert. Robert Mapplethorpe Patti Smith New York, Bellport Press, 1987
Square 4vo. Olive green cloth boards; Cream original illustrated dust wrapper; 18 photographic images tipped-in including a portrait of Patti Smith herself; unpaginated; near fine.
Limited Edition of 2000 copies, Signed by Mapplethorpe
This unique publication was produced two years prior to Robert Mapplethorpe's tragic death. His infamous exhibition, Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment , played catalyst to a national discusison on "obscene artwork" and the extent of free speech. "The works are not photographs. They are not paintings. They are pieces of the realm. They are the racing static results of the Artist at prayer…". writes the legendary Patti Smith in this inspired collaborative work. Notorious for fusing her poetry with her music, Patti Smith would release her record "Piss Factory" in 1974 which many heralded one of the most influential pieces of the punk-rock scene of 1970's New York. Robert Mapplethorpe was catapuled to fame for his controversial black and white photography, many of which depicted BDSM subculture and other provocative subjects. The duo originally moved in together in The Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan in the smallest room- an establishment that had become the epicentre of Bohemaian counterculture. Patti Smith would go on to write Just Kids , a memoir of their often turbulant but ever enduring relationship from their experience of poverty and artistry up until Mapplethorpe's premature death in 1989. It would go on to win the 2010 National Book Award for Nonfiction. She describes Mapplethorpe's legacy as such;“ Much has been said about Robert, and more will be added. Young men will adopt his gait. Young girls will wear white dresses and mourn his curls. He will be condemned and adored. His excesses damned or romanticized. In the end, truth will be found in his work, the corporeal body of the artist”. The recent writings of Patti Smith, Wool-Gathering (1992), M Train (2015) and Devotion (2017), to name but a few, have been published to substantial critical acclaim.
#2120508