Robert Mapplethorpe x Ludovic de Saint-Sénin
Photo credit: Collage Daniela Hritcu
Zhu: The now commonplace artist licensing deal really began in the 1990s, when Robert Mapplethorpe licensed his calla lilies to a ceramics company for use in a set of plates. Some say this was his last work during his lifetime.
Continuous wave: I just met Ludovic at Disneyland Paris. He was wearing one of the jackets. I touched it lightly; it was so soft and luxurious. This collection is sleek and sexy. There are also flowers and X A mark culled from a specific Mapplethorpe work, but it is also an embodiment and material response to the artist’s ethos.
Zhu: you’re right. Mapplethorpe is one of the most collaborative artists, yet his social, political and cultural background is often neutralized. What this collection offers is the dungeon – although I don’t think anyone should go to a real sex dungeon wearing Ludovic de Saint Sernin!
Continuous wave: why not? It will look greasy.
Zhu: [The red one-shoulder top] It might look good if there was a dick hanging out. This kind of cooperation is very subtle, and we don’t have many of them at the moment. It’s a true tribute that doesn’t rely solely on the artist’s cult value, which is often what happens.
Continuous wave: “Tribute” is the word I want to bring up. Cooperating [in these pages]there is a divide between collaborations in which artists are actively involved and works that pay homage to or are inspired by deceased artists. The series is more than just licensing the images in a fitting way. I suspect Mapplethorpe would have loved it if he were still alive.
Zhu: There is some historical information, such as the plate I mentioned, that suggests Mapplethorpe embraced the merchandising and product culture. As a photographer, he had to grapple with the artificial rarity of prints throughout his life—an interesting parallel to his contemporary Keith Haring, who also pondered the issue of dispersion around his death. Merchandising is a way to get your stuff out there when you’re dying prematurely from AIDS. Yes, they used flowers instead of fists, but it’s about beauty, just like fashion should be.
