Michelangelo and Mapplethorpe: An odd combination

A gay friend from my days in Washington, D.C. invited me to an exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's work. Knowing my friend, and his usual lack of interest in the arts, I should have already known what I was in for. If you are not familiar with Mapplethorpe's work it is very "artistic" and very naked. So, when we arrived at the Accademia Gallery ( a museum in Florence) and saw a sign that their current exhibit was combining the work of Michelangelo's David with an exhibit of Mapplethorpe's work, I was not sure what to think. A respected gallery was combining art from an early 16th century artist so respected in his time that he was asked to paint the altar ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with that of a 20th century artist whose homoerotic work was challenged and criticized for being obscene and depraved. Picture Better Homes and Garden having a feature spread, no pun intended, by Hustler.

Here we are in Florence; tickets in hand. Do we stay, or do we go? I made the decision to go in, and if it was flagrantly inappropriate, we would leave. I was trying to be open-minded and remember that although Italians are much more liberal than Americans, it was still a very respected museum that has more than a million visitors each year. Plus, the boys had been handling nudity surprisingly well considering their daily talk usually involved potty words.

I'm so glad my liberal side won. As it turned out, the only time either of my kids mentioned any body parts was when we got to the actual statue of David. At that point, my oldest son pointed out to anyone in earshot that David was not wearing any underwear. I guess it's really hard to miss a 17 foot naked guy in the room. He'd surely get my attention.

Ciao' for now!