Alistair Butler, N.Y.C.

Creator

American Photographer · 1946–1989

A key figure in late 20th-century photography, Mapplethorpe created work with a distinctive tension between opposites: sacred and profane, mainstream and underground, light and dark. From his early Polaroid portraits, to his fashion photography and later controversial work, Mapplethorpe's photographs are well-ordered and emotionally restrained, with dangerously chaotic and sensuous elements below.