Mapplethorpe, Robert. Robert Mapplethorpe.

Parco, 1987. Exhibition catalog in Japanese and English. Wraps with belly band and original acetate jacket. A couple of crimps in rear cover of book and jacket has some shelf wear. Very good. Adults only.  

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989) was an influential and controversial American photographer whose mastery of light,compositional rigor, and provocative subject matter profoundly shaped late-20th-century visual culture. Raised in Floral Park, Queens, and educated in graphic arts at the Pratt Institute, Mapplethorpe initially experimented with mixed-media collages before fully committing to medium-format black-and-white photography in the 1970s. His oeuvre spans meticulously sculpted studio portraits of celebrities and artists, intimate self-portraits, highly stylized floral still lifes, and candid explorations of New York's underground BDSM subculture. Collaborating closely with key creative figures—most notably his lifelong friend, muse, and former partner Patti Smith—Mapplethorpe created studio works defined by classical symmetry and sculpted tonal range. His 1989 posthumous retrospective, The Perfect Moment, sparked intense national debates in the United States over public arts funding, censorship, and free expression. Today, his work is preserved in major museum collections worldwide and managed by the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, which he established prior to his death from AIDS-related complications.

Robert Mapplethorpe is a Japanese monograph documenting the work of the legendary American photographer. Packaged with a distinctive design that has earned it cult status among photo-book collectors, the volume features text in both Japanese and English, including an introduction by David Hershkovits and a foreword by Ikuroh Takano.

Key Focus Areas

• Lesser-Known Portfolios: The monograph stands out by collecting and spotlighting some of the less-publicized and lesser-known images within Mapplethorpe's broader oeuvre, offering a unique counter-narrative to his most widely circulated imagery.

• Commercial and Agency Assignments: A significant theme of the book is its inclusion of Mapplethorpe's commercial endeavors. It showcases how his rigorous artistic devotion, clean lines, and formal elegance translated directly into ad agency projects and commissioned celebrity portraits.

• The Controlled Studio Aesthetic: The imagery emphasizes Mapplethorpe's mastery over the highly structured studio environment. The curated selection highlights his precise, sculptural approach to lighting, form, and composition, bridging both classical figure studies and stylized still-lifes of flowers.

• A Matured Focus: Edited during a period the catalog frames as a "mellower phase" of the artist's life, the book balances the sharp, subversive edges of his early career with an elevated, serene focus on abstract geometries, tactile textures, and quiet tonal contrasts.