Robert Mapplethrope Francesca Markelz; Period: 3

What is the photographer’s real name and year he or she was born? Is he/she still alive?

Robert Mapplethorpe was born on November 4, 1946, he passed away on March 9, 1989; he passed away at the age of 42.

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What is their style of photography (ex: photojournalism, editorial, documentary, advertising, portraits, magazine, sports, war, landscape, fashion)?

Mapplethorpe's style of photography was portraits and flowers; from the looks of most of his photography, it looks like he specialized in black and white photography.

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Are there any special photography techniques this photographer uses in his/her work? (Think about composition, depth of field, history…)

Again, most of Mapplethorpe's work was black and white photography. Most of his images are of people in nicer clothes, or of youthful flowers.

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Who did/does the photographer work for?

Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp are people who greatly influenced Mapplethorpe's photography. He submitted picture to Interview Magazine, but all research kind of points out that he took pictures for himself, and if he wanted to, then they were his to share.

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What type of cameras and lens does this photographer work with, and why?

He acquired his first Polaroid camera in 1970 and from there, he would create collages. He used other cameras in the future of his career.

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What type of lighting does this photographer primarily use and why?

"...he establishes the core of the shadow in the flower and allows for some reflected light..." (Adam Morelli Photo). But, no actually information was found about the exact lights that were used.

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Who are some of your photographer’s early influences?

Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp are a couple people who greatly influenced Mapplethorpe's photography.

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Are there any interesting stories about this photographer or his/her work?

Mapplethorpe worked primarily in a studio, and almost exclusively in black and white, with the exception of some of his later work and his final exhibit "New Colors". His body of work features a wide range of subjects, but his main focus and the greater part of his work is erotic imagery...His erotic art explored a wide range of sexual subjects, depicting the BDSM subculture of New York in the 1970s, portrayals of black male nudes, and classical nudes of female bodybuilders. Mapplethorpe was a participant observer for much of his erotic photography, participating in the sexual acts which he was photographing and engaging his models sexually.[11] Other subjects included flowers, especially orchids and calla lilies, children, statues, and celebrities, including Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Deborah Harry, Richard Gere, Peter Gabriel, Grace Jones, Amanda Lear, Laurie Anderson, Joan Armatrading and Patti Smith. Smith was a longtime roommate of Mapplethorpe and a frequent subject in his photography, including a stark, iconic photograph that appears on the cover of Smith's first album, Horses.[12] His work often made reference to religious or classical imagery, such as a portrait of Patti Smith [13] from 1986 which recalls Albrecht Dürer's 1500 self-portrait.[14] (Wikipedia)

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What do you like (or not like) about their work, and why did you select this photographer?

I like the black and white style of his photography, it lets me imagine the colors of flowers or of the models' outfits. I selected Robert Mapplethorpe because he took picture of flowers, and people, but one of my favorite things to take pictures of is nature.

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