Robert Mapplethorpe as the main inspiration for my photoshoot

After a long research I came to the conclusion that Robert Mapplethorpe would be my main inspiration for my photoshoot.Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white photography. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, and still-life images of flowers. His most controversial work is that of the underground bondage andsadomasochistic BDSM scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s of New York. The homoeroticism of this work fuelled a national debate over the public funding of controversial artworks.

Robert Mapplethorpe’s Shoe (Melody), 1987, sold in December for $47,800.   I just love this shoe.  I like the tones and highlights in the photograph, but most of all, I just really want to wear this gorgeous shoe!

Robert Mapplethorpe, Watermelon with Knife, 1985

Robert Mapplethorpe, Fish, 1985

And this one is my favourite image. 

Food fetishism is not new; it has been a powerful sub-division of sex since shoes were first created. Allen Jones gives his 'maitresse' spiky high heels because he knows that men who associate sexual pleasure with punishment see such heels as symbols of cruelty and pain. 

Robert Mapplethorpe, whose photographs explored the byways of sex during the 1970s and 1980s, has taken the shoe fetishist's desire to kiss and lick his partner's shoes to its final conclusion.

I found this image very interesting as I am going to produce accessories from food leftovers. I am thinking to use a model for my photo shoot. I would like to be focused on some part of her body, especially on hands and mouth. I can take some shoots when she will pretend that she is eating this accessory as it was made from food.

Ken Moody with Shoe, 1985

Light and its transformative power is a reoccurring theme throughout the work. Mapplethorpe’s search for the ‘perfect image’ is especially foregrounded in his fetishist depictions of models and accessories such as ‘Ken Moody’, ‘Melody/Shoe’ and ‘Hands’. These pictures are very interesting and inspiring. I will definitely try to incorporate some of these ideas in my project.