Censorship & Spectators by Kobena Mercer

Within Kobena Mercer article Mapplethorpe’s stated, “My work consist of psychic and social relations of ambivalence in thee representation of race and sexuality” (p. 249). Mapplethorpe’s had a certain way of looking and emphasize greatly on the frame. The fascination of having black male’s nude for his photographs gave him the satisfaction of visual representation of beautiful bodies of black males. Mapplethorpe would objectify black males as objects of gaze. Mapplethorpe would focus mostly on homoerotic work and imagery. 

Mapplethorpe had many spectators that would criticize his work. The stereotype that most spectators would implement on his work allowed them to ideologies the white male subject. The belief that black men were the lowest social class made the whites supremacist. Mapplethorpe attempted to change the perspective of categorizing by elevating and having black men on pedustual in order to change the representation of western beliefs. Spectators had a problem with Mapplethorpe photographs because they represented black males, homosexuals and not the superior race of whites.

The image I decided to focus on was the restrictions of a photographer. A photographer will always have one person to critic their work and try to implement their beliefs and strategies. In Christina Goggi photograph her spectators are restricting her on taking the photograph a certain way and altering her frame. As in the article the spectators had their beliefs on the subjects of Mapplethorpe photographs we can see the relation within this photograph in which modification is being performed. The positions of the hands in which are changing the form and angle of the photograph can capture something completely different than what the photographer wanted. There are three different spectators in which are shifting the photographers camera.