Triptych (Eyes On One Another)

Thirty years after Robert Mapplethorpe’s death, the world still cannot turn away from the magnetism and emotional complexity of his influential photographs. With their startling union of erotic heat and cool classicism, his controversial works were images of a generation, shattering mainstream conceptions of conventional beauty. Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) is the daring collaboration of a group of visionary artists working together for the first time, inspired by and featuring images from Mapplethorpe’s stunning body of work.

Composed by Bryce Dessner (guitarist for GRAMMY Award–winning band The National), featuring libretto by Korde Arrington Tuttle and poetry by Essex Hemphill and Patti Smith, and sung by the eight-person choral ensemble Roomful of Teeth, Triptych is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration of artists and art forms. Mapplethorpe’s uncanny ability to upend beliefs on race, gender and politics in both edifying and reckless ways is celebrated and examined here through haunting, unforgettable music and large-scale projections of his work. Triptych is a bold tribute to one of the most brilliant photographers of the 20th century.