Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe: "I create art with pornography."

Classic photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe may come as a shock and at the same time they are studying the critics, fighting for them at auctions and in the exhibition halls. Mapplethorpe was shooting Patti Smith, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Andy Warhol (in 2006, his portrait was sold at auction for 643,2 thousands of dollars). He photographed flowers, portraits, doing album covers, but we are most impressed by its splendid pictures of naked bodies.

The Mapplethorpe art education: he studied drawing, painting and sculpture at Pratt Institute. The artist created an experimental collage of different materials, including clippings from books and magazines. In 1970 Mapplethorpe bought a Polaroid camera and began to shoot himself: "I decided that it would be more honest". His first photos were the self-portraits and portraits of close friend singer, artist and poet Patti Smith.

Buying a medium-format Hasselblad camera, Mapplethorpe began shooting his friends and acquaintances: artists, musicians, groupies, porn stars.

He also worked on commercial projects and have made a album cover for Patti Smith, shot a series of portraits and stories from the parties for Interview magazine.

In the late 1970-ies Mapplethorpe more and more interested in the new York BDSM hangouts. His photos are shocking, but at the same time, staggering technical and artistic perfection.

In 1988 Mapplethorpe in an interview with ARTnews said, "I don't like the word "shocking". I'm looking for something unexpected. I'm looking for things never seen before. I had the opportunity to capture what I see, and I felt obliged to do it."

In 1980 Mapplethorpe met Lisa Lyon, the first world champion in bodybuilding. Over the next few years he took a series of portraits of her, prepared on their basis the film and book.

Lisa Lyon.

After a meeting with porn star Benjamin Greene Mapplethorpe was fascinated by photographing men's bodies. In 1980-e years he concentrated on photographs of Nudes, flowers (especially orchids) and portraits of celebrities.

Mapplethorpe: "the Male member, for example, flower — daunosamine. There are people who are unable to admit it, but for me it's obvious". He repeated: "My attitude to photographing a flower is not particularly different from how I photograph the member. In fact, it is one and the same — the lighting and composition. The difference is small".

The most famous image of Mapplethorpe with the image of dick ("Man in polyester suit") was sold at Sotheby's for 478 thousand dollars. It has become the quintessence of the entire work of the photographer, his ideas and way of life.

Mapplethorpe: "About me and my sitters say and write all sorts of nasty things. Among them really caught a nasty personality. But that means nothing: in hall I love them, like everything that is photographed on the street may not say Hello".

"Andy Warhol's influence on me on a subconscious level. Constantly. He said: art can be anything. So, I create art with pornography," said Mapplethorpe.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 1986 the artist was diagnosed with AIDS. Learning about the disease, it only served to heighten creative exploration, and the price of his photographs after this news has increased.

In 1987, the photographer founded the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation to promote photography, support museums that organize exhibitions, and to Fund medical research and projects for AIDS and infections associated with HIV.

Robert Mapplethorpe died on the morning of 9 March 1989, he was 42.

A powerful and provocative work has made Mapplethorpe one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. His works are exhibited in galleries in North and South America, in the largest museums in the world.

Critic K. Larson says of his work: "Robert Mapplethorpe showed that sex is the final frontier of human emancipation. He ruthlessly demonstrated to the world beyond what is permitted. He did something unexpected for all has shown that classicism and sensuality do not contradict each other and are poles of the same experience."