The book moves chronologically, giving us a brief glimpse into Patti's childhood and then turning its focus to her young adulthood. Patti arrives in New York City in 1967 (she was 21 years old, my same age) aspiring to make art. That same summer, she meets Robert Mapplethorpe and they embark on the artists life together. The book explores their unusual relationship, part romance, part friendship, part artistic collaboration. At times it feels impossible that this life was/is real, as Patti encounters homelessness, Allen Ginsberg, bad trips, and a series of events that ultimately leads her to fame.
What I love most about the book is the grace with which Patti intertwines narrative and lyricism. My favorite parts are at the beginning of her story, when she and Robert share their first space together and Brooklyn, making little money and lots of art. As the cliche goes: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Patti writes:
"There were days, rainy gray days, when the streets of Brooklyn were worthy of a photograph, every window the lens of a Leica, the view grainy and immobile. We gathered our colored pencils and sheets of paper and drew like wild, feral children into the night, until, exhausted, we fell into bed. We lay in each other's arms, still awkward but happy, exchanging breathless kisses into sleep."
Patti is open about her struggle to rationalize a life lived in the pursuit of art ("Once again I found myself contemplating what I should be doing to do something of worth. Everything I came up with seemed irreverent or irrelevant.") Yet, always she finds her way back to new inspiration, back to making art. It was so interesting to read about an artist's process and the events that inspired their work, especially for Robert. From drawing to beading to collages and finally the photographs that made him famous, I loved reading about all the various passages he made, trying to express what he felt in any way he knew how.
This book reminded me of the importance of pursuing what I am most passionate about, art or otherwise, to any ends. Above all things, Patti and Robert made art because they couldn't not. And fame found them. It is that desire to just do, without any hope for reward or recognition, that truly breeds the greatest and most important ideas.
