Robert Mapplethorpe

Beauty and the devil are the same thing.

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

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

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.

I am selfish, but that's an attribute that all artists possess.

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.

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

I don't believe in dogmas and theologies. I just believe in being a good person.

I don't know why my pictures come out looking so good. I just don't get it.

I don't think any collector knows his true motivation.

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

I just try to live my life and do my thing.

I just want to be written about as a normal artist.

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

I recorded that because it happened to me. I wasn't making a point.

I see things like they've never been seen before. Art is an accurate statement of the time in which it is made.

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

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

I wish I could be elegant.

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