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Reviews were highly charged and visceral. "Allen Ellenzweig,
in Art in America, wrote: 'Mapplethorpe signals unambiguously
that we are here to inspect: the body is its own unapologetic
event. Accordingly, we have no sense of an attempted mediation
between Sex and Art -- the esthetic object is the sexual
object, and vice versa. Without any pretense of a sociological
pose, this exhibition [of which Polyester Suit was a part]
accurately taps into prevailing cultural values: sex is beautifully
packaged and objectified: you can even take it home and put it
on your walls.' However, Fred McDarrah of the Village Voice used
blunter language: 'Main picture here is a big black dude seen
in an expensive suit with is fly open and his cock sticking out.
The picture is ugly, degrading, obscene -- typical of the artist's
work, which appeals largely to drooling, lascivious collectors
who buy them, and return to their furnished rooms to jerk off.'"
Morrisroe, Patricia. Mapplethorpe. New York: Random House
(1995).
Could the same words be spoken -- by both Ellenzweig and McDarrah
-- of Gustave Courbet's painting, The
Origin of the World? Of course. The images are
nearly identical -- including truncated head and legs -- and
only the medium (and social context) have changed.
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