Robert Mapplethorpe is known for his black and white portraits of celebrities, flowers, himself, and nudes. The homoerotism in some of his photography was highly controversial, especially in regards to funding for the arts, since his patrons gave him large amounts of money to buy space for him to live in and work.
I've been interested in Mapplethorpe for some time - initially due to the sexual nature of his work, from a study of visual representation of sexuality, but my interest began to grow with his work in regards to race and popular culture.
Mapplethorpe had a particular interest in photographing black males (which was some of the roots of controversy). During the time, AIDS was a up and coming issue (he, himself, died from complications related to AIDS) and his interest in nude black males only provoked the already existing rise in homophobia.
He also photographed the famous people of his time, such as Andy Warhol (below) and Patti Smith (who was at time his partner until he realized he was gay). There are many photographers who focus on celebrities today, such as Tyler Shields, but unlike paparazzi photographers, Mapplethorpe and these particular celebrity photographers set up portrait sessions rather than follow their celebrities. This implied the close relationship between the arts and popular culture.
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