Statement:

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.
 

Biography:

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) was born in New York and considered by many art scholars to be among the most important American photographers of the latter half of the twentieth century. His first photographs were of his close friend, the singer-artist-poet Patti Smith. Later in the decade (post disco-pre-AIDS) he became known for his black and white portraits of composers, socialites, porn stars and the S&M underground, many of whom were personal friends. Mapplethorpe had his first solo exhibition in New York in 1976. During the early 1980's, his photographs shifted to emphasize classical form, concentrating on statues, delicate flowers and formal portraits. It was during this period that he experimented with color, moving beyond the black and white photographs that made him an art star. In 1988, four major exhibitions of his work ignited controversy and sparked a larger debate about censorship, arts funding and other First Amendment concerns. Mapplethorpe died from AIDS on March 9, 1989, in Boston, at age 42.