October 23, 2012

Mapplethorpe at The Getty

Robert Mapplethorpe’s work has consistently provoked strong reactions, notably during the so-called Culture Wars of the 1980s. 

A tastemaker and provocateur, Mapplethorpe’s highly stylized explorations of gender, race, and sexuality exerted a powerful influence on his contemporaries.

In 2011, LACMA and the J. Paul Getty Trust jointly acquired art and archival materials by or associated with Robert Mapplethorpe. 

Now, the Getty’s In Focus: Robert Mapplethorpe and LACMA’s Robert Mapplethorpe: XYZ celebrate the artist’s ground-breaking photography in joint shows which run through March 2013.