At the heart of Mapplethorpe's photography there is a paradoxical tension between outrageous content and intensely controlled presentation. Mapplethorpe's images are often sufficiently obscene to be considered pornography (even by the artist himself), while his overall aesthetic is chaste, classical,

Classical, Homoerotic, In-your-face, Political, Portrait, Queer art, Repetition, Sexy, Slick

Classical, Epic theater, Existentialist literature, Expressionist theater, Neurotic, Political, Sardonic

Playwright Alice Childress blazed across off-Broadway like a supernova, startling audiences and critics with her candid, finely crafted characterizations of African Americans. Childress remarked that she concentrated "on portraying the have-nots in a have society, those seldom singled out by mass med

African american fiction, African american theater, Egalitarian, Feminist, Political

Italian playwright, performer, and 1997 Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo is known for his subversive political savvy and ludicrous farces. Fo has often been called the true heir of Aristophanes for his gift of outrageous political satire and slander. Fo's humble beginnings as a mime inform his comedies wi

Cartoonish, Commedia dell'arte, Feminist, Political, Political theater, Wise assy