I don't think that there's that much difference between a photograph of a fist up someone's ass and a photograph of carnations in a bowl.
Robert MapplethorpeSell the public flowers... things that they can hang on their walls without being uptight.
Robert MapplethorpeI like to look at pictures, all kinds. And all those things you absorb come out subconsciously one way or another. You'll be taking photographs and suddenly know that you have resources from having looked at a lot of them before. There is no way you can avoid this. But this kind of subconscious influence is good, and it certainly can work for one. In fact, the more pictures you see, the better you are as a photographer.
Robert Mapplethorpe