Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpewas an American photographer, known for his sensitive yet blunt treatment of controversial subject-matter in the large-scale, highly stylized black and white medium of photography. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits and still-life images of flowers. His most controversial work is that of the underground BDSM scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s of New York. The homoeroticism of this work fuelled a national debate over the public funding...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth4 November 1946
CountryUnited States of America
Robert Mapplethorpe quotes about
People have done pornographic pictures forever, but most of the people who involve themselves in explicit sexuality aren't really artists.
I don't think any collector knows his true motivation.
One must ease the public into it - that's an art in itself
I am selfish, but that's an attribute that all artists possess.
The photographs that are art have to be separated from the rest - then preserved.
Whether it's an orgy or a cocktail party, I know how to do it.
The best picture I got was Bianca Jagger whispering in Mick's ear. I caught them telling a secret, which is sort of rude.
When I create art, it's like holding hands with God.
I'm not photographing anything naked these days. I haven't been concentrating on bodies recently.
I don't use recreational drugs, except for cocaine, hallucinogens, and nitrates.
I just want to be written about as a normal artist
Sell the public flowers... things that they can hang on their walls without being uptight.
I always thought I was good. That's why it was so frustrating when other people didn't agree.
I see things like they've never been seen before. Art is an accurate statement of the time in which it is made