“I had never seen a woman like that before. It was like looking at someone from another planet.”
—Robert MapplethorpeIn 1980 Robert Mapplethorpe and Lisa Lyon embarked on a joint photographic project that explored themes of androgyny, classicism, erotica, and American subculture. Shortly after winning the First World Women’s Bodybuilding Championship in 1979, Lyon retired from the sport, seeing herself more as a performance artist than an athlete. At the same time, Mapplethorpe was beginning to broaden his circle of subjects. Lyon embodied a personality very similar to his own, and was a person willing to transform herself in every way for her art. The result was a series of 117 portraits taken over a span of two years that show a range of characters floating between masculine and feminine, aimed at deconstructing gender stereotypes.
This photograph of Lyon with the American flag draped over her arm, hinting at but not revealing the body behind it, is one of the premiere images from this celebrated series. It is one of three works by Mapplethorpe that presents the flag in an irreverent manner, preceded by Flag, 1977, showing a worn and tattered flag; and followed by Flag, 1987, which shows it flying backwards.
This print was originally in the collection of Lisa Lyon.
