Mapplethorpe.la: Mobile Guide for the Getty and LACMA

Mapplethorpe.la
Getty & LACMA
Black and white close-up portrait of a person with curly hair, makeup and a fur collar
Black and white profile portrait of two bald men, one dark-skinned and one pale, heads side by side
Black and white close-up of a stockinged foot in a patent leather high heel with ankle strap

A mobile companion for the joint Mapplethorpe retrospective at the Getty and LACMA.

Overview

Robert Mapplethorpe's major retrospective spanned two museums simultaneously: the Getty and LACMA. The exhibition traced his photographic work from the early 1970s through the culture wars of the 1990s, covering portraits, nudes, still lifes, and the controversial X Portfolio.

What We Built

Heroic designed and launched Mapplethorpe.la, a mobile-first museum companion that tied the two exhibitions together. Visitors got an interactive guide to key works, themes, and timelines, with a single digital experience connecting both venues. The site was covered by the LA Times, The Guardian, the New York Times, and The Art Newspaper.

Shirtless young man half hidden behind a white brick wall, arm stretched out with a leather wrist cuff

PRESS

Getty Museum and LACMA to Combine for Two-Venue Mapplethorpe Show
Los Angeles Times
Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium review – hunting for sex and death
The Guardian
Robert Mapplethorpe: In Search of Perfection
The New York Times
Lacma and the Getty Acquire Robert Mapplethorpe Art and Archive
Getty
Who's afraid of Robert Mapplethorpe?
The Art Newspaper
Muscular woman in profile wearing a black veiled hat with flowers and a strapless top, flexing her arm
Woman in a wide veiled hat, dark tunic and tall leather boots seated on a studio stool
Bare leg raised upright with pointed foot between two dark panels, in black and white
Short-haired woman in a belted black bodysuit, hands over her face and arms across her bare chest
Black and white close-up of a white calla lily against a dark background
Man seen from behind with bare back and shaved head, pulling apart sheer white fabric with both hands
Two shirtless men wearing ornate crowns embrace against a dark background, in black and white
Nude man in profile bent forward inside a white circular frame, hands clasped at his knee
Black and white still life of a flower in a small bowl casting a long diagonal shadow
Tall rock formation rising from the sea under a gray sky, in black and white
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