“Beauty and the devil are the same thing”, says Robert Mapplethorpe, an American photographer known for pushing the limits in photography.
Mapplethorpe, who started taking photos using a polaroid camera in the seventies, is famous for:
– black & white nude art
– erotic art
– BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism) themes
– explicit imagery (self-portrait of him inserting a bullwhip into his anus)
For many, Mapplethorpe’s work is art.
For many others, it’s obscene.
One thing’s for sure:
his work is bold, honest, and nothing short of groundbreaking.
“This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don’t get it.”
Mappelthrope died in 1989 of complications arising from AIDS.
“I don’t like that particular word ‘shocking.’ I’m looking for the unexpected. I’m looking for things I’ve never seen before. I was in a position to take those pictures. I felt an obligation to do them.”
“I played around with the flowers and the lighting, so that was a good way to educate myself.”
“I would never have done what I’d done if I’d considered my father as somebody I wanted to please.”
“When I have sex with someone I forget who I am. For a minute I even forget I’m human. It’s the same thing when I’m behind a camera. I forget I exist.”
Very bold if I might say… but definitely artistic.