Provocative pictures will draw fame, or at least notoriety. I get it. In the '70s and '80s, Robert Mapplethorpe was trying to push buttons with his bondage pictures, but now the shock value's worn off. (Visit the Seattle Erotic Art Festival and you'll know what I mean.) Mapplethorpe's Polaroid portraits in the Henry's new show, however, were gorgeous studies. Each small composition was a joy to examine up close. The man also had a sly sense of humor. I loved this invite to his first solo show. From the text panel: "Mapplethorpe opened his first solo show on January 6, 1973, at Light Gallery, 1018 Madison Avenue, New York. For the invitation, he took a self-portrait in the mirror, holding his Polaroid camera in front of his bare crotch. Hundreds of gelatin silver prints were made from the negative and embossed with Mapplethorpe's name. "A label was affixed to the back of each photograph with information about the opening's location and time. Either a red or a white paper dot was applied to the front to conceal the penis -- a tongue-in-cheek dig at earlier laws forbidding the circulation of nudity through the mail. "The invitation was then slipped inside the protective paper that came with Polaroid film, and was posted in a cream-colored Tiffany envelope."