Robert Mapplethorpe

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

“To make pictures big is to make them more powerful.”

“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.”

“If I have to change my lifestyle, I don't want to live.”

“My father wants me to be like my brother, but I can't be.”

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

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

“This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don't get it.”

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

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