Mapplethorpe notes.

Robert Mapplethorpe.

- Robert Mapplethorpe was raised in a strict Catholic household in the suburbs, therefore he felt as though Catholicism had an important influence on his work.
- At age 16, Mapplethorpe moved to Brooklyn to attend training at an art school.
- He attended Pratt instate of Art
- Mapplethorpe was close friends with PattySmith and they used to live together
- His first ever portrait was of Patty Smith
- He usual used his friends as models as they were most comfortable around him
- Mapplethorpe was openly gay, which was shocking as he was raised to be Roman Catholic
- He we most known for his documentation of  Manhattan's gay community in the late 60's and 70's
- He mainly photographed black and white portraits and flowers (as in that time flower photographs were the best selling photos in the industry)
- Most of Mapplethorpes portraits were of gay couples and often contained nudity
- Mapplethorpe sold prints for $15,000
- A session with Mapplethorpe would cost $10,000
- His work was often used for album covers
- Mapplethorpe had his nipple pierced on video
- Mapplethorpe was accused of being selfish as it seemed as though his work set out to shock people, as in that time homosexuality was still a controversial topic
- Mapplethorpes work often raised issues such as sex, violence and race discrimination
-This meant that many of his exhibitions were closed down
- Mapplethorpes work was around in the 'Pre-digital age'
- He used simple, soft-lighting which meant that the details of faces were more obvious
-Mapplethorpe died at age 43 due to Aids.