Remembering Robert Mapplethorpe – Master of Photography
Photographer Spotlight
We cover photographers from all walks of life on Digital Photography Daily for an important reason. Viewing the work of the masters of the art of photography is how photographers learn and validate their own personal work. Viewing the works of the masters such as Pete Turner, Ansel Adams, Michael Kenna and William Neill should be a regular task for the beginning, enthusiast or professional photographer. In the least, viewing the work of other photographers should provide inspiration. Paying honor to who I consider one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, Robert Mapplethorpe, is my contribution to your sources of inspiration.
Patti Smith, 1986 (http://www.mapplethorpe.org)
I was first exposed to the work of Robert Mapplethorpe when his career was in full swing in the early 1980’s. I was viewing photography books with a collector colleague of mine M. Casadei, and came across Mapplethorpe’s work in a series of books that were in print at that time. I was absolutely astounded at the quality of two of his many portfolio subjects, portraits and flowers. Mapplethorpe is known for his work on portrait photography, male nude photography, female nude photography, S&M photography and flower photography. Please don’t be shocked that S&M and flowers are in the same sentence. It’s a simple fact that Mapplethorpe had a definite concentration on a specific set of subject matter. What is most surprising is his mastery of his subject matter. At the time, I would say that Mapplethorpe was the worlds first and foremost fine art photographer in his specific repertoire.
Among professional photographers, art collectors and rock & roll historians, Mapplethorpe is a well remembered icon. His beautiful friendship with rocker Patti Smith (beloved here in the Detroit area) is well documented and discussed. His hard work in the fine art circles of making photography a serious art form is also well known. In the least, my article here should serve a purpose if introducing Robert Mapplethorpe and his work to the new legions of digital photographers who have joined our ranks in the past 5, 10 or 20 years. View his website, http://www.mapplethorpe.org/ and pay close attention to Mapplethorpe’s body of work. His mastery of composition, color, tone in both black and white and color should be inspiration enough. If anything else, his portraits are timeless, and may make you rethink your own choice of subject matter and composition.
Robert Mapplethorpe was born in 1946 in Queens, New York. He succumbed to AIDS in 1989, but not before he formed the non-profit Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, which is still today dedicated toward preserving and protecting his fine art work and to support medical research in the area of AIDS and HIV infection. You can contribute to the foundation by contacting them via email at info@mapplethorpe.org or by phone at (212) 755-3025.
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