"As I got older, I discovered... stories of
exquisite creatures that have inspired
artists for centuries.  I lost myself in the
shadows, preferring imaginary worlds
with the beautiful and impossible heroic
beings that inhabited them.  They were
inspiration..."

Robert John Guttke

The eccentric artist started out his creative pursuits with pencils, paper, and a great deal of clay. He would leave his garret apartment atop a small old house, mount his bicycle, and then pedal off to scour the city lakes for inspirations for his work.

You see this was a place famous for having ten thousand lakes, all of which teem with people eagerly soaking up sun and heat because the summer months were few and bitter winter ruled most the year.

The artist circled and circled the lakes while watching joggers, volleyball players, sun bathers, fellow bicyclists and those who simply walked the shores to enjoy the day... and always there were a select few who dared to put themselves on display. The artist would pump those bicycle pedals hard and like a moth to the flame brought himself face to face with his possible inspiration.

The human figure always remained the creative pursuit, but as the years passed the medium changed, and the pencils and paper and clay were put aside in favor of a camera. And that was when something curious happened. The subsequent photographs had a far more reaching effect than the artist ever expected. His work soon appeared as note cards, calendars, posters and even in magazines seen all around the world.

There have been school teachers, firemen, strippers, businessmen, carpenters, construction workers, engineers, insurance salesmen; the butchers, the bakers and the candlestick makers; and all are the various flowers in a creative garden. Has the journey always been satisfying, has the individual always been a pure pleasure with whom to work? Well, of course not. In the beginning there was more of a struggle to let the world know what the photographer could do, so the photographer endured a wide variety of personalities and eccentric traits which, incredulously, far outshined his very own. But that’s called paying the price.

Another photographer once said: "After I photograph a model I wish they would just die." Which is amusing when you first hear it, assuming this photographer has had some stressful moments with fellow human beings. But any business that has to do with people can be stressful and there just aren’t enough jobs in lighthouses today to alleviate that problem. So this photographer approaches a new inspiration hoping for the best, and nowadays, more often than not, that’s what he gets. As the years have passed these models from all walks of life have been welcomed experiences. They trusted and entrusted themselves to someone who was allowed to portray them in a whole different fashion, a whole new light. Beyond the gym, beyond the athletics, or beyond the appreciation of their significant other they can, perhaps, see what it is that has inspired artists from the beginning.

Marble and bronze, paint and ink, film and camera have been over the ages a means to an end, but there is still no end in sight. The easiest thing in the world to visually relate to is another human being and this photographer prefers to show the subject when it is at its very best, capturing a physical potential that will always be fleeting. Butterfly collecting? Maybe. But with a slightly different twist. The photographer takes the flesh, the muscle, the bone, and the outward persona and makes of it what he will, enveloping it in a variety of light, and if the final image engages the eye, locks the viewer in place for just a few moments and causes some thought, some wonder, some appreciation, then everything has been worth it. The journey continues...

Stewart Talent in Chicago/Wade Childress: "Robert's photography is the work of a seasoned artist and truly shows an appreciation of form, structure, sculpture and light."

Chosen Management in Chicago/David Love: "Robert's work captures powerful strength that is both honest and beautiful.

L.A. Models/Ken Steckla: "Guttke expresses himself through the eyes of a sculptor. His innate understanding of the elements of light and dark brings power to his work and draws you into it. Hell, he takes $#!&% sexy pictures!"