Lady: Lisa Lyon [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

This book is one of the most interesting photographic studies of a woman that I have ever seen because it displays so many dimensions of the same person. You feel like you've moved past the external to understand the psyche of Lisa Lyon. Most books of female photography focus on one aspect of one female role, whether it be as fashion model, temptress, character etched in a face, tender of children, or as a beautiful icon. This book captures all those roles except the tender of children, plus adds quite a few others that are rarely seen. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the full potential of the photographic art.

Before going further, you should realize that this book contains much female nudity of a challenging sort that would probably cause the images to exceed an R rating if they were a motion picture.

Most of the images were taken in New York City between 1980 and 1982. Ms. Lyon had won the first World Women's Bodybuilding Championship in Los Angeles in 1979. She refused to defend her title, stating that she was a "performance artist" who acts as a "sculptor whose raw material was her own body." Seeing her posing in these images makes me realize that aspect of her talent and interests. She and Mr. Mapplethorpe collaborated on what images to shoot, and enjoyed lively wrangles along the way.

The foreword by Samuel Wagstaff nicely summarizes the results. The images "escape the shackles of womanly stereotype." As the dust cover image shows, she could sit like a "lady" while showing her "muscle" at the same time. The joint effects are fascinating. As Mr. Wasgtaff points out, it's "a new freedom of tongue-in-cheek." One image has her standing totally bare wearing only an old-fashioned gas mask.

Ms. Lyon adds her own comment. "The pictures are a little hard, like us." As a body builder, she can pose so that you see extreme muscle definition or she can relax in a dress and simply look like a fascinating fashion model. This flexibility adds greatly to the viewer's enjoyment.

In the essay by Bruce Chatwin, you can learn a lot about Mr. Mapplethorpe's work here. "His eye for a face is the eye of a novelist in search of a character . . . ." ". . . [H]is eye for a body that of a classical sculptor in search of an 'ideal.'" Mr. Mapplethorpe's female sitters "seem mesmerized . . . by his presence, and they are temporarily transported into a dream-world."

As for Ms. Lyon, she describes herself this way. "My childhood was dark." Mr. Chatwin points out the wonderful contribution she makes to the images through her "histrionics, ability to sass, spoof, impersonation, parody, caricature, and charade." He feels that Mr. Mapplethorpe and she have created a "picaresque novel." Mr. Mapplethorpe was originally attracted by her "air of an Old Testament heroine."

I found almost all of the images to be outstanding. They are not named, so I will do my best to describe a few to give you a flavor for the work.

Emerging from the water, Fire Island, New York (this is a classic Venus pose);

Framed by foliage, Jamaica (this gives a feeling of full-bodied innocence in the Garden of Eden);

In repose on a raised cement curb, Jamaica (this gives a sculptoral feeling of looking at a Greek goddess);

Lifting torso on bench, Jamaica (this is a difficult muscle stunt that displays perfect form and strength, and gives the feeling of classic sculpture);

Silhouette with knife, New York City (this looks like a French cut-out);

Sitting on edge of shower, Jamaica (this feels like a woman in deep thought and is all about the mind, even though the body is nude);

Holding hand mirror wearing corset looking out, New York City (this one raises the question of, who am I?);

Flamenco dancer with her hand holding her skirt up to one side, New York City (this is an idealisation of the female identity);

Nude lit by flaming paper, New York City (this seems like a primitive woman celebrating the religious mysteries).

I found all of the many fashion shots to be delightful because they have a campy feeling. My favorite was the one of her wearing a fedora.

For comparison, I suggest you look at Boris Vallejo's fine photograpic studies of female bodybuilders for his illustrations. That will give you the full sense of how imaginative and wonderful these photographs are.

The question this collection poses is how to get beyond stereotypes. Often these preset notions are so grounded in our thinking that we are not even aware of them. As a result, we presume, assume, and misjudge. We project our fears onto what we see, and act accordingly. I suggest that you use this work to encourage you to project your love and caring instead.

Look beyond what you see now, to imagine what could be. Then act on the potential!

Robert Mapplethorpe is famous for his highly erotic male nudes. He also created a series of B/W photos of flowers in order to have pictures to sell that were not so erotically charged. His photos of Lisa Lyon, the first famous female bodybuilder, fall into a very different category. Mapplethorpe shot a few other muscular females in the late 1970s, but his most extensive work was with Lisa. This was a very collaborative project - Lisa Lyon was a kind of "performance artist" who was very involved in creating the images seen in this book. By modern standards, Lisa hardly looks like a bodybuilder at all (the so-called "fitness" women are more muscular) but she was very much a pioneer in the field and Mapplethorpe was one of the few photographers of the day (another being Helmut Newton) to turn his attention to the muscular female body. "Lady" is an interesting book of pictures, especially for (1) fans of Mapplethrope, (2) fans of Lisa Lyon, (3) fans of the muscular female physique - as well as those who simply like interesting collections of photographs.