In honour of what would have been Robert Mapplethorpe‘s 70th birthday, Juergen Teller will be curating a retrospective of the iconoclast’s vast and provocative body of work – ‘Teller On Mapplethorpe’ – at London’s Alison Jacques Gallery.

No photographer since Robert Mapplethorpe has so seamlessly blurred the lines between commercial fashion photography and art as Juergen Teller, and both artists are famed for twisting and manipulating conventional understandings of photography as an art form. The gallery is said to have granted Teller free access to Mapplethorpe’s entire archive of both published and unpublished work, circumstances that facilitate a deep and rich reading of the rebel artist’s work. Without a doubt, to view Mapplethorpe’s photographic oeuvre through Juergen Teller’s visionary lens promises to be a unique and rarefied experience.

Milton Moore, 1981

Mapplethorpe sought an unrealistic perfection of form in everything he photographed, from acts of sexual fetishism to the delicate shapes and contours of flowers. His classical and formalist approach to scandalous and highly explicit subject matter elevated photography to the level of painting and broke down the barriers between pornography and art.

Alison Jacques, who has represented the Estate of Robert Mapplethorpe in Britain for seventeen years, said: “Provocative and subversive, making images which are the antithesis of conventional fashion photography and, most importantly, a key artist of his time, Juergen Teller was the only choice to curate this special exhibition of Robert’s work. There are obvious parallels between these artists and I am excited to see how Juergen will bring his edge, energy and unique vision to a new reading of Robert’s work.”

Jennifer Jakobson, 1981

This will be the gallery’s first exhibition of Mapplethorpe’s works since the dual retrospective ‘Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium’ at The J. Paul Getty Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles (2016), and follows on from the recent release of the HBO documentary film Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016).

‘Teller On Mapplethorpe’ will be held at the Alison Jacques Gallery from 18th November – 7th January.

Alisonjacquesgallery.com

Main image: Ken Moody, 1985

Tags: Alison Jacques Gallery, Juergen Teller, Robert Mapplethorpe

At times, Marianne Faithfull the Sixties legend has threatened to overshadow Marianne the real and living person. But after over thirty years in the spotlight, and the former pop ingénue  has battled addiction to continue to put out records.

It’s fitting then that her curated exhibition at Tate Liverpool should be titled Innocence and Experience and nothing better sums up the show then a 1976 Mapplethorpe image of Faithfull, seemingly uneasy as she transitions from her Sixties naïveté to a dark awareness of life’s depths.

Having selected works from the Tate Collection, Innocence and Experience reflects upon Faithfull’s artistic influences, as well as those over her private life. Dark and romantic, the works in this exhibition are brought together by a curator whose life will be forever intertwined with art and performance.

Innocence and Experience curated by Marianne Faithfull  is at Tate Liverpool 20 April – 2 September 2012
tateliverpool.org

Tags: Art, exhibition, Innocence and Experience, Marianne Faithfull, performance, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sixties, Tate Collection, tate liverpool

Even at 64 years old, the godmother of punk Patti Smith still manages to be a creative powerhouse.

Her exhibition Patti Smith: Camera Solo and the accompanying hardcover book show that although singing might have been the first thing to catapult her into the spotlight, the Chicago native’s talent for photography deserves equal recognition.

Smith, who describes retreating to photography like “a room of my own”, shot 70 images with a vintage Land 100 and Land 250 Polaroid camera.

Utilising black and white photography as a reflection of her career and life, she features self-portraits and objects such as the belongings of her father and close friend Robert Mapplethorpe.

Intimate and personal, the exhibit and publication showcase the undiscovered side of a cultural icon.

Patti Smith: Camera Solo is on view at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT  until February 19.
pattismithcamerasolo.com
yalebooks.co.uk

Tags: Patti Smith, Patti Smith: Camera Solo, photography, Robert Mapplethorpe