2016 is going to be a good year to look at the work of the celebrated controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. First there is a brand new documentary by the prolific gay filmmakers Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato (‘Party Monster’ ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’) called Mapplethorpe : Look at the Pictures .  It had a very successful World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently playing the Festival circuit before it is aired on HBO in April. Click here to read our full review.

Then in an unprecedented arrangement there are not one but two Mapplethorpe retrospectives in two different Museums in L.A. that open on this month.  At LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum) they are showcasing ‘Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium’  which explores Mapplethorpe’s body of work through early drawings, collages, sculptures, and Polaroid photography; materials from his archive; portraits, still lifes, and figure studies; rare color photographs; and two seldom-seen moving image works. The exhibition also highlights the artist’s relationship to New York’s sexual and artistic undergrounds, as well as his experimentation with a variety of media.

The companion exhibition at the J Paul Getty Museum ….also called The Perfect Medium ….reexamines the arc of Mapplethorpe’s 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.

Mapplethorpe : Look at the Pictures : http://www.hbo.com/documentaries

LACMA : Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium : March 20, –July 31, 2016 : http://www.lacma.org

Getty Center : Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium : March 15, –July 31, 2016, http://www.getty.edu