Intellect

Authors:  Tara Chittenden 
DOI: 10.1386/eta.5.2 and 3.157/1

Keywords
body,sexuality,race,Mapplethorpe,art classrooms,secondary

Abstract
Representations of the body present valuable resources for questioning how historical, political and social conditions function to shape attitudes and identities. Viewed within a framework of discourses about power, domination, pleasure and subordination, the explicit representation of bodies and acts does not have to be delimited as pornographic exposure. In this article I suggest a strategy for viewing Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs which demonstrate their potential as a resource for engaging students with discourses of sexuality and race as a part of the secondary art curriculum. I focus my discussion on two particular photographs: Joe (1978) from Mapplethorpe’s sadomasochism series and Ajitto (1981) from his series of black male nudes. I demonstrate that these, sometimes ‘problematic’, artworks can offer students a point of intervention into contemporary cultural debates about sexuality, race and subjecthood.