ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE (1946-1989)
Gay Power. Volume 1, number 16. Underground newspaper with cover image by Mapplethorpe of his photographic collage titled "Bull's Eye;" numerous illustrations and articles; edited by John Heys. Folio (420x290 mm; 16½x11½ inches), 23, [1] pages on 6 folding sheets of newsprint, unbound; closed tear to 5th leaf, minimal front edge wear and toning. New York: Joel Fabricant, May 1970. An early issue of "New York's First Homosexual Newspaper" bearing what is believed to be Robert Mapplethorpe's earliest published photograph. The photographer received his first camera in 1970 and was enrolled as a student at the Pratt Institute of Design studying graphic art when he made the collage entitled "Bull's Eye," reproduced on this cover. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York does not identify any published Mapplethorpe photos predating it. This publication also predates his first one-man show held at Stanley Amos's gallery in the Chelsea Hotel on 4 November 1970. Mapplethorpe started taking his own photos to use in collages instead of using images from books and magazines because "it was more honest"--mapplethorpe.org (biography).