--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had been born one or two hundred…" description: "\"If I had been born one or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way to see, to make sculpture.\" — Robert..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/robert-mapplethorpe-11315_born_if-i-had-been-born-one-or-two-hundred-ye_628681.jpg" --- # If I had been born one or two hundred years ago, I might… ![“If I had been born one or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way to see, to make sculpture.” quote by Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/robert-mapplethorpe-11315_born_if-i-had-been-born-one-or-two-hundred-ye_628681.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/robert-mapplethorpe-11315_born_if-i-had-been-born-one-or-two-hundred-ye_628681.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/robert-mapplethorpe-11315_born_if-i-had-been-born-one-or-two-hundred-ye_628681.jpg) > “If I had been born one or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way to see, to make sculpture.” [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography captures reality instantly, turning moments into sculptural art. **In simple terms:** Photos are fast, three‑dimensional expressions. Key Takeaway Use photography to freeze and shape perception. Themes art technology perception Mood reflective inquisitive Type artistic creative When to use this quote - documentary work - creative projects - visual storytelling - education Key Concepts visual art instantaneity medium evolution Questions to Reflect On - How does immediacy affect artistic depth? - Can photography replace traditional sculpture? A Different Perspective May undervalue slower, tactile artistic processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Sculptor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptor/) [Sculptors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptors/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) ## Related quotes > [Carving is a source of joy to the artist. . . . To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/carving-is-a-source-of-joy-to-the-artist-to-attack-the-raw-material/) Aristide Maillol > [Every man is the painter and the sculptor of his own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/every-man-is-the-painter-and-the-sculptor-of-his-own-life/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [When I'm sculpting, I work with wood and clay, and though some say that an image is already in the material and the sculptor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/when-i-m-sculpting-i-work-with-wood-and-clay-and-though-some-say-that/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [A sculptor is a person obsessed with the form and the shape of things, and it's not just Ihe shape of any one thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/a-sculptor-is-a-person-obsessed-with-the-form-and-the-shape-of-things/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [I'm not a sculptor; I'm a hard-edged model maker. You give me a drawing, you give me a prop to replicate, you give me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-m-not-a-sculptor-i-m-a-hard-edged-model-maker-you-give-me-a-drawing/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-i-m-still/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [Before I start carving the idea must be almost complete. I say 'almost' because the really important thing seems to be the sculptor's ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hepworth/before-i-start-carving-the-idea-must-be-almost-complete-i-say-almost/) [Barbara Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hepworth/) > [You can't understand how strange it was to be a sculptor who exhibited photographs. (On exhibitions of his earthworks and land art pieces.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-oppenheim/you-can-t-understand-how-strange-it-was-to-be-a-sculptor-who/) [Dennis Oppenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-oppenheim/) > [What can a sculptor do without the chisel and the hammer? And what can an impostor politician do without the ignorants and the uneducated?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-can-a-sculptor-do-without-the-chisel-and-the-hammer-and-what-can/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [In my view, the composer, just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter, is in duty bound to serve Man, the people. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/in-my-view-the-composer-just-as-the-poet-the-sculptor-or-the-painter/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [The sculptor represents the transition from one pose to another he indicates how insensibly the first glides into the second. In his work we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/the-sculptor-represents-the-transition-from-one-pose-to-another-he/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [It's very inconvenient being a sculptor. It's like playing the double-bass; one's so handicapped by one's baggage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/it-s-very-inconvenient-being-a-sculptor-it-s-like-playing-the-double/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Every young sculptor seems to think that he must give the world some specimen of indecorous womanhood, and call it Eve, Venus, a Nymph,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/every-young-sculptor-seems-to-think-that-he-must-give-the-world-some/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I'm an ice sculptor. Last night I made a cube.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-m-an-ice-sculptor-last-night-i-made-a-cube/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [When a sculptor creates a sculpture, a writer writes a novel, or a painter paints a motif on a canvas, he needs talent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-teuber/when-a-sculptor-creates-a-sculpture-a-writer-writes-a-novel-or-a/) [Klaus Teuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-teuber/) ## More by Robert Mapplethorpe > [People don't have time to wait for somebody to paint their portraits anymore. The money is in photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/people-don-t-have-time-to-wait-for-somebody-to-paint-their-portraits/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I just want to be written about as a normal artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-just-want-to-be-written-about-as-a-normal-artist/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [The more pictures you see, the better you are as a photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/the-more-pictures-you-see-the-better-you-are-as-a-photographer/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I don't use recreational drugs, except for cocaine, hallucinogens, and nitrates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-don-t-use-recreational-drugs-except-for-cocaine-hallucinogens-and/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [One must ease the public into it - that's an art in itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/one-must-ease-the-public-into-it-that-s-an-art-in-itself/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today's existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-went-into-photography-because-it-seemed-like-the-perfect-vehicle/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [Whenever you make love to someone, there should be three people involved - you, the other person, and the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/whenever-you-make-love-to-someone-there-should-be-three-people/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/if-a-day-goes-by-without-my-doing-something-related-to-photography-it/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I became the toast of London. A lot of people I met came from these really decadent families where the married men were gay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-became-the-toast-of-london-a-lot-of-people-i-met-came-from-these/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [This AIDS stuff is pretty scary. I hope I don't get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/this-aids-stuff-is-pretty-scary-i-hope-i-don-t-get-it/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I was a Catholic boy, I went to church every Sunday. A church has a certain magic and mystery for a child. It still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-was-a-catholic-boy-i-went-to-church-every-sunday-a-church-has-a/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I think that it was a great advantage to go into photography not knowing much about it. Not thinking. 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I wasn't making a point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/i-recorded-that-because-it-happened-to-me-i-wasn-t-making-a-point/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [My father wants me to be like my brother, but I can't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/my-father-wants-me-to-be-like-my-brother-but-i-can-t-be/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) [Explore all 59 Robert Mapplethorpe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. 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