Robert Mapplethorpe’s Black Star (1983) Original Reproduction Print, Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

Details

Description

Title: STAR ( BLACK ) 1983

Artist: Robert Mapplethorpe
©️ Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

Size: 9” x 1” x 9”

Medium: … Read more Title: STAR ( BLACK ) 1983

Artist: Robert Mapplethorpe
©️ Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

Size: 9” x 1” x 9”

Medium: black & white photography

Signed: Robert Mapplethorpe autograph on the upper left hand corner of the Black Star

Roberts Mapplethorpe’s Self-Portrait (1983) is a black-and-white photograph depicting the artist in a leather jacket, holding a rifle, posed in front of his own sculptural construction, Black Star (1983). The 1983 artwork features a black-painted five-pointed star (pentagram) frame, reflecting Mapplethorpe's use of religious and occult symbolism, combined with a "macho" persona. 

*The Black Star Structure: The photograph is part of a series where Mapplethorpe includes his own, often geometric or construction-based, sculptures in the background.
Context: Taken around 1983, a period when his "for-adults-only" and highly stylized,, often controversial, black-and-white photography was gaining significant attention.
Composition: The photograph is a deliberate, stark composition, characteristic of his work, highlighting themes of power, persona, and, through the star/pentagram, symbolic or occultist themes.


About Artist:

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989) was a seminal American photographer known for provocative, technically precise black-and-white images, including celebrity portraits, male nudes, and the NYC underground scene. He gained fame for elevating fetishistic imagery to high art, often focusing on the male form. See less