The Art Controversy of Mapplethorpe and Serrano Essay

The Art Controversy of Mapplethorpe and Serrano - Essay Example Mapplethorpe’s art is a rare combination of classic style and revolutionary theme. He deals with his carefully chosen theme of eroticism so as to aggravate the shock value. He exploits the different nuances of sexuality from the homoerotic to the phallic. His preferences with homoeroticism come naturally from his homosexual orientation. And to some extent it would not be wrong to say that his work of art portrays his own reflections and conceptualization of the erotic from a homosexual point of view. But to restrain his content to sexuality would be grossly unfair because in his later years Mapplethorpe had an ideological shift and he concentrated more on abstract spiritual themes rather than material ones. The uniqueness of his art lay in the fact that Mapplethorpe was unapologetic in his treatment of themes. He went ahead to capture in his frame some starkly bold moments of eroticism and the incongruous that have irked many.