Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
ARTIST ROOMS
National Heritage Memorial Fund
Art Fund
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/robert-mapplethorpe-11413" aria-label="More by Robert Mapplethorpe" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Robert Mapplethorpe</a>
Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter
ARTIST ROOMS
Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008
adults
bound
chain
clothing and personal items
crime and punishment
domestic
dress: fantasy/fancy
emotions, concepts and ideas
erotic
formal qualities
furnishings
hat, cap
heating and lighting
Heeter, Lyle
homosexuality
individuals: male
interiors
jacket
light / lamp
living room
man
named individuals
objects
people
photographic
portraits
Ridley, Brian
sadomasochism
sex and relationships
society
table
tools and machinery
<p>In this black and white square-format double photographic portrait two leather-clad men, identified in the title as Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter, are situated in a living room. The two men are positioned in the centre of the photograph. Ridley is seated in a leather wingback armchair, with chains attached to his ankles and wrists. He is shackled to Heeter, who stands to his left, resting his right elbow on the armchair and lightly grasping in his right hand the chain attached to the leather collar around Ridley’s neck. Both figures are wearing leather jackets, trousers and boots. Heeter is also wearing a leather cap, and holds in his left hand a riding crop which rests upon the armchair pointing down towards Ridley’s crotch. Ridley sits with his legs wide open and his hands resting in his lap, while Heeter stands casually above him with his right leg crossed in front of his left. Ridley and Heeter both fix the camera with intense stares. The room in which they are depicted has all the features of a conventional living room, including curtains, venetian blinds, an oriental carpet, an ornamental clock and a table lamp. The lamp, which is on, projects Heeter’s shadow onto the wall behind Ridley.</p>
paper print photograph gelatin silver
19 December 2009 – 27 March 2010
2010-03-27
19 December 2009 – 27 March 2010
2010-03-27
2009-12-19
Graves Art Gallery (Sheffield, UK)
http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/coresite/html/graves.asp
2009-12-19
ARTIST ROOMS 2009: Robert Mapplethorpe
Loan-out
25 September 2010 – 21 November 2010
2010-11-21
25 September 2010 – 21 November 2010
2010-11-21
2010-09-25
Towner (Eastbourne, UK)
http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/
2010-09-25
ARTIST ROOMS 2010: Robert Mapplethorpe
Loan-out
Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter
support: 341 × 341 mm
frame: 612 × 586 × 38 mm
<a href="/search?gid=999999788" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">ARTIST ROOMS</a>
Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the <a href="/search?gid=999999967" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">National Heritage Memorial Fund</a> and the <a href="/search?gid=999999968" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Art Fund</a> 2008
<div class="text">
<p>In this black and white square-format double photographic portrait two leather-clad men, identified in the title as Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter, are situated in a living room. The two men are positioned in the centre of the photograph. Ridley is seated in a leather wingback armchair, with chains attached to his ankles and wrists. He is shackled to Heeter, who stands to his left, resting his right elbow on the armchair and lightly grasping in his right hand the chain attached to the leather collar around Ridley’s neck. Both figures are wearing leather jackets, trousers and boots. Heeter is also wearing a leather cap, and holds in his left hand a riding crop which rests upon the armchair pointing down towards Ridley’s crotch. Ridley sits with his legs wide open and his hands resting in his lap, while Heeter stands casually above him with his right leg crossed in front of his left. Ridley and Heeter both fix the camera with intense stares. The room in which they are depicted has all the features of a conventional living room, including curtains, venetian blinds, an oriental carpet, an ornamental clock and a table lamp. The lamp, which is on, projects Heeter’s shadow onto the wall behind Ridley.</p>
<p>The apparent normality of the conventionally decorated living room contrasts strongly with the two imposing figures in their harsh leather clothing. The clothing identifies Ridley and Heeter with the gay S&amp;M scene, a subculture which represented a type of behaviour as well as an adopted style or attitude, often associated with leather and bondage. A feature of the scene was erotic partnerships characterised by the dominance of one partner (often referred to as the ‘master’) and the submissiveness of the other (often referred to as the ‘slave’). In this photograph it is clear that Ridley is the ‘slave’ and that Heeter, with his crop, the ‘master’.</p>
<p>The artist was a sympathetic participant in sadomasochistic subculture. As Patti Smith, Mapplethorpe’s lifelong friend, records in her memoir: ‘Robert was not a voyeur. He always said that he had to be authentically involved with the work that came out of his S&amp;M pursuit’ (Smith 2010, p.235). Through his photographs Mapplethorpe intended to bestow dignity and beauty upon a subject that was considered outside accepted norms of behaviour. In an interview with Dominick Dunne in <i>Vanity Fair</i> magazine, Mapplethorpe said: ‘most of the people in S&amp;M were proud of what they were doing. It was giving pleasure to one another. It was not about hurting.’ (Quoted in Danto 1996, p.39.)</p>
<p>This work is one of a number of photographs made by Mapplethorpe to record the sadomasochistic subculture which fascinated him. Many of these works, such as <i>Dominick and Elliot </i>(Tate <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/mapplethorpe-dominick-and-elliot-ar00199" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>AR00199</span></a>)<i>, </i>were sexually explicit, depicting an array of sadomasochistic practices, from penis piercing to anal penetration with a bull-whip. Unlike Mapplethorpe’s other S&amp;M works, <i>Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter</i> is not sexually explicit. This photograph is also unusual for its humour deployed in the contrast between the couple’s sadomasochistic outfitting and their domestic interior.</p>
<p>The close relationship between the artist and his subjects might be inferred from the fact that the subjects have disclosed their names. This might also suggest that they trusted the artist to portray them with respect. As the American art critic Arthur C. Danto writes: ‘they could display their leather gear and shiny chains with pride. They trusted the artist not to make them look like fools, to show them as they would wish to be shown’ (Danto 1996, p.42).</p>
<p>
<b>Further reading</b>
<br/>Richard Meyer, ‘Imagining Sadomasochism: Robert Mapplethorpe and the Masquerade of Photography’, <i>Qui Parle</i>, vol.4, no.1, Autumn 1990, pp.62–78.<br/>Arthur C. Danto, <i>Playing with the Edge: The Photographic Achievement of Robert Mapplethorpe</i>, Berkeley and London 1996.<br/>Patti Smith, <i>Just Kids</i>, London 2010.</p>
<p>Matthew Macaulay<br/>The University of Edinburgh<br/>June 2014</p>
<p>
<i>The University of Edinburgh is a research partner of ARTIST ROOMS.</i>
</p>
</div>

Summary
2016-03-18T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
<p>Humour is not something that we tend to associate with Mapplethorpe’s work, but this double portrait certainly has it. Unusually, Mapplethorpe has chosen to photograph these two men not in a neutral setting but in a cluttered environment of questionable taste. The implication is that this is where the men live. They are dressed in full black leather gear and the submissive seated partner is chained up and shackled to the bearded standing figure. The sado-masochistic ritual that is being enacted contrasts totally with the homey living room. The only pointer to darker currents is the table to the right made of deer antlers.</p>

Online caption
2009-04-16T00:00:00
online-caption
ONLINE_CAPTION
adults bound chain clothing and personal items crime and punishment domestic dress: fantasy/fancy emotions, concepts and ideas erotic formal qualities furnishings hat, cap heating and lighting Heeter, Lyle homosexuality individuals: male interiors jacket light / lamp living room man named individuals objects people photographic portraits Ridley, Brian sadomasochism sex and relationships society table tools and machinery