we see what we choose to see

Robert Mapplethorpe is a well know photographer of the 1980s. Most of us probably know him as the best friend and photographer of Patti Smith. Almost all of the iconic images of Patti Smith were shot by Robert. You may not know him as a photographer of flower still lifes however. A quick google search revealed at least four books of just his flower photos. I own one of them. I like his flower photos…but they do not wow me. They seem to me photos anyone could make if they were tasked with “making the flowers look as sexual as possible.” In my opinion, he had a dominant filter through which he saw the world. That filter happened to be sex. And sex never goes out of style. This daylily, with swollen ovaries is my homage to Robert Mapplethrope.

daylily with swelling ovaries