Jasmine Barrios Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe began his photography career in the 1970s, he became interested in photography by taking Polaroid’s he included these polaroid’s in mixed media pieces and showed them in his first solo gallery. However in the late 70s he began to take photos of the New York’s scene and decided to primarily focus on photography. Many of Mapplethorpe’s photos are in black and white he rarely deliberately shot in color. He shot flowers and nature very often. He was also interested in men and women roles in society and many of his photographs depict “abnormal” positions of men and women. I was drawn to his work because of how elegant he presents his ideas through his photos. Although elegant and soft they clearly show a powerful and strong message and he was able to capture emotion well through his photos. I am also impressed with how well he shot in black and white to capture great shadows and contrast with intentionality the way he made use of black and white was not only for the aesthetic but for his expressions. The majority of Mapplethorpe’s photos are staged and not natural, in motion or action shots there is a stillness to each photo. The photos allow the viewer to pause and rest because they are simple and straightforward they are not over complex. Unfortunately Mapplethorpe passed away due to AIDS in 1989, the illness did not slow down his artwork it actually continued to flourish throughout the remainder of his life. I believe that Mapplethorpe’s photos still speak to this generation and we can learn through his photographs and gain great insight on how he viewed people and life.