Joel-Peter Witkin (b. 1939, Brooklyn, NY) is an American photographer known for his provocative and often controversial images that explore themes of death, identity, and the human body. His work frequently incorporates religious iconography, classical art references, and marginalized subjects, including people with disabilities, transgender people, and others often excluded from mainstream representation. Witkin’s meticulously staged photographs blend baroque aesthetics with a surreal, sometimes macabre sensibility. He studied at the University of New Mexico and the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and has taught photography at the University of New Mexico. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major public collections including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
