The photographs that are art have to be separated from the rest – then preserved.

Meaning of the quote

Not all photographs are considered art. The ones that are true works of art need to be carefully chosen and kept safe so that people can appreciate them for a long time.

About Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer known for his black-and-white photographs featuring a variety of subjects, including celebrity portraits, nudes, and BDSM imagery. His controversial 1989 exhibition sparked a debate in the US over the use of public funds for ‘obscene’ artwork and free speech.

More about the author

More quotes from Robert Mapplethorpe

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I’ve never lied. I think I’ve lived a moral life.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don’t get it.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I don’t know why my pictures come out looking so good. I just don’t get it.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

Beauty and the devil are the same thing.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

American photographer

Just because I was out at the bars all the time didn’t mean I wasn’t looking for someone to love.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

American photographer

The more pictures you see, the better you are as a photographer.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

People don’t have time to wait for somebody to paint their portraits anymore. The money is in photography.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

You’re never going to get anywhere in life if you don’t live up to your obligations.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

With photography, you zero in; you put a lot of energy into short moments, and then you go on to the next thing.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I can’t have just anybody assisting me, I need somebody who I can really communicate with.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I’m not a photojournalist.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

My theory about creativity is that the more money one has, the more creative one can be.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

If I am at a party, I want to be at the party. Too many photographers use the camera to avoid participating in things. They become professional observers.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I am selfish, but that’s an attribute that all artists possess.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

To make pictures big is to make them more powerful.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I wish I could be elegant.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

American photographer

My father wants me to be like my brother, but I can’t be.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

Happiness? No, it’s not there for me.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I recorded that because it happened to me. I wasn’t making a point.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I don’t believe in dogmas and theologies. I just believe in being a good person.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

The photographs that are art have to be separated from the rest – then preserved.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I just try to live my life and do my thing.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I just want to be written about as a normal artist.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

I became the toast of London. A lot of people I met came from these really decadent families where the married men were gay and no one thought anything about it.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

If I have to change my lifestyle, I don’t want to live.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

One must ease the public into it – that’s an art in itself.

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer

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

Robert Mapplethorpe

American photographer