Robert Mapplethorpe & ‘Comedians’

Today I spent my lunchtime in the Graves Gallery, and saw the two current temporary exhibitions there. I’m sure many of you will have seen Robert Mapplethorpe‘s striking portrait of Patti Smith on billboards around the city, and it is the case that she features heavily in this small but well-selected exhibition. The artist lived with Smith for a number of years, and the relationship between them definitely shows in the intimate portraits taken – several of which were for her album covers.

The accompanying text was informative, and excellent for someone like myself who was a newcomer to this photographer. Some of the discussion on the technicalities of the technique would have been incredibly useful to a photography newbie or student, and I think that overall it was really well pitched. I would suggest that photography buffs or particular fans of Mapplethorpe may find the text a little basic, but the photographs speak for themselves. I was generally pleased with the collection, and it was surprisingly ‘family-friendly’ given the artist’s reputation for sadomasochistic imagery. That said, there were a few treats of that sort in store!

Further through the gallery was another portraiture exhibition, ‘Comedians‘, featuring some fantastic portraits of some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ most prolific comedians. From Charlie Chaplin to Dawn French to Ricky Gervais, some of these brilliantly captured some great British talent.

Neither are huge exhibitions, and as such I suggest them as a great diversion on a long lunch break or Saturday afternoon. I always try and make an effort to visit travelling exhibitions in Sheffield, I just hope that you will too!