Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

Beauty and the devil are the same thing.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I am obsessed with beauty. I want everything to be perfect, and of course it isn't. And that's a tough place to be because you're never satisfied.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

To make pictures big is to make them more powerful.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I'm looking for the unexpected. I'm looking for things I've never seen before.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

Sell the public flowers... things that they can hang on their walls without being uptight.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

When I work, and in my art, I hold hands with God.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

My lifestyle is bizarre, but the only thing you need to know is where the darkroom is.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I see things like they've never been seen before. Art is an accurate statement of the time in which it is made.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

When I have sex with someone I forget who I am. For a minute I even forget I'm human. It's the same thing when I'm behind a camera. I forget I exist.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I wish I could be elegant.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I played around with the flowers and the lighting, so that was a good way to educate myself.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

Whenever you make love to someone, there should be three people involved - you, the other person, and the devil.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I should try to get some sleep as one doesn't know what tomorrow may bring.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I always thought I was good. That's why it was so frustrating when other people didn't agree.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I just hope I can live long enough to see the fame.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I don't think any collector knows his true motivation.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I'm not photographing anything naked these days. I haven't been concentrating on bodies recently.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

Happiness? No, it's not there for me.

Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe

I would never have done what I'd done if I'd considered my father as somebody I wanted to please.