Robert Mapplethrope Documentary

In class this week, we watched a documentary about Robert Mapplethrope an American photographer. He was quite an interesting man, to say the least. Photography was not his first career choice, but he became very passionate about it later on in his life. When it came to photography he was very bold and adventurous with how he wanted to capture each picture. His exploration into each photograph captures his passion and expresses how well he interacted with all his models. He would manipulate people to get what he wanted, which lead him to many wondrous pictures. He began photographing naked men and women, but eventually became focused mainly on men. His reason for photographing men was the body structure they had. As he continued to explore the body structure of the different types of men, he realized the differences between a white and African American body type. He became very fond of African American males and tried to find the “perfect” one. Once he found the “perfect” male, his creativity blossomed and he captured many interesting photographs. Although some of his famous work is considered “inappropriate” and pornographic it captures his passion and his way of thinking that many don’t understand. Personally, I found it very bold to express his feelings and passions through his photographs without caring what other people think. I found him quite interesting and would like to see his photographs in an exhibit if I had the chance!