A biography for Robert Mapplethorpehasn’t been written yet.
“I just try to live my life and do my thing.”
“My lifestyle is bizarre, but the only thing you need to know is where the darkroom is.”
“I don't believe in dogmas and theologies. I just believe in being a good person.”
“Sell the public flowers... things that they can hang on their walls without being uptight.”
“I've never lied. I think I've lived a moral life.”
“This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don't get it.”
“I see things like they've never been seen before. Art is an accurate statement of the time in which it is made.”
“I'm not photographing anything naked these days. I haven't been concentrating on bodies recently.”
“I should try to get some sleep as one doesn't know what tomorrow may bring.”
“Beauty and the devil are the same thing.”
“If I am at a party, I want to be at the party. Too many photographers use the camera to avoid participating in things. They become professional observers.”
“I'm not a photojournalist.”
“If I have to change my lifestyle, I don't want to live.”
“Whenever you make love to someone, there should be three people involved - you, the other person, and the devil.”
“I wish I could be elegant.”
“Just because I was out at the bars all the time didn't mean I wasn't looking for someone to love.”
“Happiness? No, it's not there for me.”
“I played around with the flowers and the lighting, so that was a good way to educate myself.”
“I recorded that because it happened to me. I wasn't making a point.”
“People don't have time to wait for somebody to paint their portraits anymore. The money is in photography.”