I always thought I was good. That's why it was so frustrating when other people didn't agree.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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 Quote

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 Quote

I can't have just anybody assisting me, I need somebody who I can really communicate with.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I don't believe in dogmas and theologies. I just believe in being a good person.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I don't think any collector knows his true motivation.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I don't use recreational drugs, except for cocaine, hallucinogens, and nitrates.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I just hope I can live long enough to see the fame.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I just try to live my life and do my thing.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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

I recorded that because it happened to me. I wasn't making a point.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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 Quote

I should try to get some sleep as one doesn't know what tomorrow may bring.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I would never have done what I'd done if I'd considered my father as somebody I wanted to please.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

I'm not photographing anything naked these days. I haven't been concentrating on bodies recently.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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 Quote

Just because I was out at the bars all the time didn't mean I wasn't looking for someone to love.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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

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

People don't have time to wait for somebody to paint their portraits anymore. The money is in photography.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

Sell the public flowers... things that they can hang on their walls without being uptight.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

The best picture I got was Bianca Jagger whispering in Mick's ear. I caught them telling a secret, which is sort of rude.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

The photographs that are art have to be separated from the rest - then preserved.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don't get it.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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 Quote

When I work, and in my art, I hold hands with God.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

Whether it's an orgy or a cocktail party, I know how to do it.
- Robert Mapplethorpe Quote

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 Quote