So I watched an old Arena documentary on Robert Mapplethorpe... He spoke of how talking too much about one's work and trying to explain it in great detail and depth more often than not ruins the mystery. I totally agree, when the work is strong it should speak for itself plus when you read/ hear about the ideas behind an image these facts tend to stay with you and alter your perception. You see the image in a new and different light, if you'll pardon the pun. Not that this is always a bad thing. It of course depends largely on the subject matter of the image amongst other things.
Mapplethorpe also mentioned his catholic background and how this subconsciously affected the way in which he arranged things (in his living room for example), and was perhaps the reasoning behind his love of symmetry and order.
His work was undoubtedly personal - and all the reasons for the controversy surrounding his explicit work was not his desire to shock, but indeed - 'it was about me wanting to see things.'
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