Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer known for his large scale, stylised, black and white photography. his work featured many subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self portraits and still life. Most of his work was shot in a studio and almost exclusively in black and white. His final exhibit was the only one to really contain colour, titled "New Colors". Mapplethorpe was particularly interested in erotic art, going so far to call his own work pornography. Even with questionable subject matter, his works were considered high art.
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| Bruce Mailman, 1981 |
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| Javier, 1985 |
His above photographs, while simplistic, show the ways in which black and white photography can be used to show depth. The first photograph has a darker background, it isn't distracting in any way, instead, it makes the figure stand out from the background. There is three sections to that first photograph, the chair, the person and the background. Each is in focus, but one does not distract from another. The image is balanced and well composed. The second is a close up of a boys face. The background is white, probably the bottom of the bath tub, but instead of having the figure stand out from the background, the figure and the background are almost merged. There is a fine line of shadow on the boy's shoulder that seperates the two and there is less depth within the photograph than there is in the first. Both images are sharp and have a lot of detail.
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