Lady: Lisa Lyon / Robert Mapplethorpe, 1983

Description

Lady: Lisa Lyon is a 1983 photography book by American artist Robert Mapplethorpe, featuring Lisa Lyon. The volume captures Lyon as a study in feminine strength, performance, and sculptural form, merging classical aesthetics with contemporary portraiture. It is a landmark collaboration that helped define Mapplethorpe’s signature exploration of the human body.

Key facts

• Photographer: Robert Mapplethorpe

• Subject: Lisa Lyon

• Publication year: 1983

• Publisher: Viking Press

• Medium: Black-and-white photography

Collaboration and concept

The book grew from Mapplethorpe’s fascination with Lisa Lyon, a pioneering female bodybuilder and performance artist who won the first Women’s World Bodybuilding Championship in 1979. Mapplethorpe’s lens emphasized her as both athlete and muse, portraying the interplay of power and grace through controlled composition and lighting.

Artistic significance

Lady: Lisa Lyon marked an important moment in Mapplethorpe’s career, bridging his studies of form with his interest in mythic and erotic subjects. The work challenged conventional ideas of femininity and strength, contributing to debates about gender representation in fine art photography during the 1980s.

Legacy and reception

Critics praised the book for its formal beauty and for expanding the artistic vocabulary around the female body. Lyon’s collaboration with Mapplethorpe influenced later photographers and artists interested in the intersection of performance, identity, and visual art. Today, the book is regarded as both a collector’s piece and a cultural document of the early 1980s art scene.