Mapplethorpe, Capa, and Taro, oh my!

So, you won’t see any flying monkeys, and you won’t even need any courage, but you’ll need to hurry up if you want to see the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition in Seibu Ikebukuro. I say that you won’t need courage, because the photos that Mapplethorpe is famous for are largely illegal in Japan, so for 500 yen, you get to see a collection of his flower photos, which is still nothing to sneeze at. The guy was very good at what he did. The exhibition’s last day is Valentine’s Day, so shake a tail feather if you want to see it. Also~ If you and your significant other happen to be of the same gender, it would probably be an excellent Valentine’s Day date, as it was his homoeroticism that rocked the American public financing of art world.

Another great exhibition is the Robert Capa and Gerda Taro exhibition at the Yokohama art museum near Minatomirai station. both Capa and Taro were killed while photographing wars, and that fact really hits home in this exhibition. It’s curated in such a way that it doesn’t taper to an ending, but it ends, abruptly  with you staring out at the exit, wondering exactly how it all came to an end so quickly. Spoilers: it was a landmine. The Capa/Taro exhibit is 1100 yen, and will be at the museum until March 24th, so you’ve got some time.

Personally, if I had to chose only one of these, then Capa/Taro it would be. It’s fantastically curated, and I’m a sucker for all things Magnum.