The WOW Report

  • WOW Report
  • RuPaul’s DragCon
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!
  • WOW Presents Plus
  • What to Watch
    • Backyard Envy
    • Dancing Queen
    • Fashion Photo RuView
    • Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles
    • Ministry of Evil
    • UNHhhh
    • Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race
  • Store
You are here: Home / Misc / The Reviews Are In! ‘Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures’ is ‘Confrontational and Illuminating!’

The Reviews Are In! ‘Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures’ is ‘Confrontational and Illuminating!’

By Nigel Zeff on January 24, 2016 11:04 am

Screen-Shot-2015-12-03-at-2.23.23-PM1

The reviews are already glowing for Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey‘s Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures, which had its debut today at the Sundance Film Festival. Screen Daily has published their review tonight, remarking that to “‘look at the pictures’ is exactly what co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato encourage us to do, in this confrontational and illuminating film.”

According to Screen Daily:

Look At The Pictures squawks a furious senator, brandishing a wad of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs in his meaty fist. Eyes popping, outraged to the point of aneurysm, he provides persuasive support for the theory of writer and Drummer magazine editor Jack Fritscher, voiced later in the film, that the penis is the most terrifying thing in the world. And ‘look at the pictures’ is exactly what co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato encourage us to do, in this confrontational and illuminating film. Look at all of them, from the beauty of the flower still lives to the polished celeb portraiture to the eye-popping hard core S&M images.

This frank but accessible documentary couldn’t be more timely, coming as it does just before joint retrospective shows co-curated by the J Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary Art are set to open in March 2016. The resurgence of interest in and reappraisal of Mapplethorpe’s life and work which the shows will likely trigger should ensure both festival exposure and some theatrical interest. The in-your-face approach to the male appendage characterised by Mapplethorpe’s more personal work might limit the film’s television sales however.

The documentary uses footage of the two shows’ curators reverently appraising the BDSM-heavy X portfolio (they discuss composition, neatly sidestepping the elephants and bullwhips in the room) and footage of auctions for his notable works to establish his current status in the contemporary art market. Then we wind back to his early life, as an ambitious art student and the boyfriend of Patti Smith, to learn more about the self-created phenomenon that was Robert Mapplethorpe.

Read the rest here!

Mapplethorpe-Quote1

Don’t miss the HBO premiere of Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures April 4!

Show the love:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Misc

More

#QWERRRKOUT Tuesday: Many-Faced Goddess LAUREL CHARLESTON

#QWERRRKOUT Tuesday: Many-Faced Goddess LAUREL CHARLESTON

by Paisley Dalton on January 19, 2021 7:13 am

Sarah Jessica Parker! Nicole Kidman! Kamala Harris! It’s the WOW Report for Radio Andy!

Sarah Jessica Parker! Nicole Kidman! Kamala Harris! It’s the WOW Report for Radio Andy!

by Blake Jacobs on January 15, 2021 4:16 pm

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Trending


Bette Midler Sings “Goodbye, Donnie” to the Tune of “Hello, Dolly” Watch

Bill Maher Writes an Instructional Children’s Book for Trump – “Pack Your Sh*t & Go” Watch

RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Premieres This Year on WOW Presents Plus, Stan, TVNZ OnDemand

#LGBTQ: Matthew Camp’s House Completely Torched By Arsonist in an Apparent Hate Crime

Deven Green Shares a Final Goodbye From Last Lady, Mesopotamia Trump. Watch

About

From the creators of The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Party Monster, Million Dollar Listing, RuPaul's Drag Race, I Am Britney Jean, Big Freedia, and more.

Stacey Abrams! Kimye! Chaos at the Capitol! Georgia Goes Blue! It’s the WOW Report for Radio Andy!
The Top Ten Things You May Have Forgotten Happened in 2020!
“Santa Fa La La” from “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special” is a Sexy Xmas R&B Grind. Watch
Tom Cruise! Meryl Streep! James Corden! Ann Reinking! Harry & Meghan! The WOW Report for Radio Andy!
Check Out Big Freedia’s XXXmas Wishlist in “Better Be” feat. Flo Milli

© 2019 World of Wonder Productions, Inc | World of Wonder is a trademark of World of Wonder Productions, Inc | Privacy

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in