(1946 – 1984) Photographer. A master of neo-classical black-andwhite composition, Mapplethorpe challenged the art world and American society with his subject matter. Alongside stunning flowers and male nudes that recreated visions of light and form, he created equally stunning gay and sado-masochistic tableaux that sparked firestorms of controversy over exhibitions, censorship and federal funding for the arts. Cancellations and arrests sometimes overshadowed the sheer power of his art, although his photographs now hang in major museums worldwide.