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Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures + Conversation with Sandy Nairne and Alison Jacques
20 Dec 2016
Sandy Nairne and Alison Jacques are in conversation ahead of a screening of Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, on the occasion of exhibition Teller on Mapplethorpe (Alison Jacques Gallery, until 7 Jan 2017). Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery (2002-2015), curated Robert Mapplethorpe's first solo exhibition at the ICA in 1983. Alison Jacques has represented Robert Mapplethorpe's estate in the UK since 1999.
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures is the first definitive, feature-length portrait of the controversial American artist Robert Mapplethorpe since his death from AIDS in 1989. The one thing more outrageous than Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs was his life. Intimate revelations from family, friends and lovers are topped only by Mapplethorpe's candour, revealed in a series of rediscovered, never before heard interviews, made public here for the first time. This is the unique portrait of an artist who turned photography into contemporary fine art with a bold vision that ignited a culture war that rages to this day.
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, dir. Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, USA 2016, 108 mins
Speaker biographies
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Alison Jacques
Alison Jacques, owner of Alison Jacques Gallery in London, has represented Robert Mapplethorpe in the UK since 1999. Prior to working in the commercial world Jacques was Curator of The British School at Rome, after which she trained as a dealer with Leslie Waddington. Jacques has championed Mapplethorpe's lesser-known bodies of works such as the Polaroids, unique works and sculptures, promoting Mapplethorpe as an artist rather than solely as a photographer.
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Sandy Nairne
Historian and curator Sandy Nairne CBE FSA has previously worked at The Tate, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford. He served as the director of the National Portrait Gallery, London from 2003 - 2015. In 1987, he wrote the book and documentary series State of the Art for Channel 4. He has curated and co-curated exhibitions which include British Sculpture in the 20th Century, Jeff Wall, The Impossible Self, American Realities and the first retrospective of Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs.
