Among the many contemporary artists that emerged out of the 1960’s, perhaps the one that ventured the farthest into gender and identity is Robert Mapplethorpe. As documented in Patti Smith’s novel Just Kids, Mapplethorpe explored his sexuality and identity in society both in his work and in real life. As shown in this painting of his, Mapplethorpe explored the aspect of homosexuality as well as other taboos in American society, including sexuality in general and women in society. However, the lifestyle he lived to help explore was “poisonous” and he was essentially selfdestructing his body. He would later succumb to AIDS in the late 80’s. Even though he took his work to an extreme, his legacy is an awe inspiring one. It offers the viewer a look inside the mind of a complex and confused individual that ventured farther than any other artist had done so before to explore the role gender and identity has in art and society.