Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) came to collaborate at Graphicstudio intrigued by the possibilities of photogravure, an almost forgotten 19th century photographic process that the studio had begun to research and revitalize in the 1980s. Photogravure's range of tones and shadow detail was ideal for the interpretation of Mapplethorpe's exquisite figure study and still-life photography, and he was open to experimentation with color and texture. In their collaboration, Mapplethorpe and Graphicstudio's Research Director Deli Sacilotto gave an entirely new look to the beautiful process, which had been ignored by photographers for over six decades.

ORCHID

The space in which Mapplethorpe's Orchid exists is at once airless and yet heavy with atmosphere, tranquil and yet unsettling. When compared with the style of the other two flower images produced as photogravures at Graphicstudio, Hyacinth and Irises, the iconic quality of Orchid is underscored. The flower looms large, willfully projecting itself into the picture plane. Mapplethorpe maximizes the natural symmetry of the plant, yet the slight bend in the stem, disrupting that symmetry and suggesting both delicacy and dignity, is the mainstay of the composition. The soft, grainy texture created by the aquatint ground evokes the velvety, tactile, palpable, fleshlike quality of the petals.

Tampa Orchid

In Tampa Orchid, two copper plates were used to print two orchid images, derived from the same photographic image but printed side by side in tones of black and blue. The black flower remains anchored on its dense, nonreflective photogravure background, while the blue flower floats on a screenprinting of glittery silver.

UNTITLED #1-5 from the KEN MOODY PORTFOLIO

The Untitled #1-5 portfolio consists of five images of the model Ken Moody, produced as photogravures at Graphicstudio in 1985, the first prints in this medium produced by the workshop. The project was undertaken by Research Director Deli Sacilotto, with whom Mapplethorpe had worked previously in gravure; the plates were executed in New York and the editions printed in Tampa. Four of the five prints in the series were single-color photogravures. Sacilotto stated, however, that Mapplethorpe "wanted each one to be slightly different—not the usual techniques. He suggested hand-watercolor. We got to talking about flocking in the background, which we ended up using in one of the prints [Untitled #5]." The hand-coloring was executed according to the artist's specifications by USF graduate student Susan Voss. According to Sacilotto, Ken Moody (nude with red background), printed in three colors, at that time was "one of the few, if not the only, full-color hand-printed photogravure in existence. I don't know if anybody else has done that. It involves process color-red, yellow, blue, printed in that order. Of course, the registration problem was extremely difficult. We worked with dampened paper and tremendous pressure, so if you get slight expansion or slight mis-registration it would throw it out entirely. We ended up printing at least 140 impressions in order to get 80 good prints."

 

Further Resources

Artist's Site: mapplethorpe.org

Printmaking + Sculpture Terms

Printmaking Glossary

Sculpture Glossary

Sales

For sales, or more information about an edition, please contact Graphicstudio at (813) 974-3503 or gsoffice@usf.edu.

Copyright + Reproduction

Images of the artwork are jointly owned by the artist and Graphicstudio. Reproduction of any kind including electronic media must be expressly approved by Graphicstudio.