This month, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will jointly show the work of Robert Mapplethorpe in a landmark retrospective exhibition at both museums (kind of a big deal). The simultaneous exhibitions feature work drawn from the joint Getty/LACMA acquisition of art and archives made in 2011 from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, and include both his most iconic images and lesser-known photographs.
Curators for the exhibition are Paul Martineau, associate curator in the Getty Museum’s Department of Photographs, and Britt Salvesen, curator of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department and the Prints and Drawings Department at LACMA. The two complementary presentations are designed to highlight different aspects of the artist’s complex oeuvre.
The exhibition reexamines the arc of Mapplethorpe’s photographic work from its beginnings in the early 1970s to the culture wars of the 1990s, and features his most iconic images of portraits, still lifes, and figure studies alongside less-known photographs. It also explores his fascinating early drawings, collages, sculptures, and Polaroid photography; working materials from his archive; rare color photographs; and seldom-seen video works.
Brit Salvesen explains the difference between the two exhibits:
“LACMA’s presentation focuses on Mapplethorpe’s working methods, sources, and creative processes—the experimental and performative aspects of his work—while the J. Paul Getty Museum highlights the artist’s disciplined studio practice, figure studies, and legacy.”
The exhibits will be on view March 15–July 31, 2016, at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, and March 20–July 31, 2016, at LACMA.
Also in the Getty’s Center for Photographs during the Mapplethorpe exhibition will be “The Thrill of the Chase: The Wagstaff Collection of Photographs,” on view March 15–July 31, 2016.
Says LACMA:
LACMA’s presentation (March 20–July 31, 2016) highlights the artist’s relationship to New York’s sexual and artistic undergrounds, as well as his experimentation with a variety of media. Additionally, a focused installation of work by other artists drawn from LACMA’s permanent collection helps place Mapplethorpe in conversation with the art of the 1980s. The companion exhibition at the Getty (March 20–July 31, 2016) explores Mapplethorpe’s disciplined studio practice and his fascination with classical form and the fine photographic print.
Says the Getty:
Robert Mapplethorpe is among the most influential visual artists of the late twentieth century. This major retrospective exhibition reexamines the arc of his photographic work from its humble beginnings in the early 1970s to the culture wars of the 1990s. Featuring portraits, nudes, still lifes, and the controversial X Portfolio, the exhibition explores Mapplethorpe’s studio practice and the creation of his foundation, which has shepherded his legacy into the 21st century.
Drawn from the landmark acquisition from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, two complementary presentations, one at the J. Paul Getty Museum and another at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, highlight different aspects of the artist’s complex oeuvre.
All of this, of course, is to wind you up for the big HBO/World of Wonder premiere of Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures on April 4th. Set your DVRs now, you aren’t going to want to miss THIS ONE.
The post Attention Angelenos: The Historic Joint Mapplethorpe Exhibits at LACMA and the Getty Happens NEXT WEEK appeared first on The WOW Report.