I don’t care whether you like the Madonna of today or not, but the Madonna of the Early 80s Lower East Side was freaking amazing. To celebrate her iconic status as a symbol of that time, the W Hotel has been touring “Madonna: A Transformational Exhibition,” curated by Rock Paper Photo. The exhibition features never before seen images of Madonna cohorting on the Lower East Side taken by Richard Corman and George DuBose, at the time just before she launched into world wide fame and was still a darling of the LES.

Richard Corman

Richard Corman

Most of the exhibition is spread across the 7th floor lobby and lounge of the W Hotel Times Square (I know, we seem to be telling you to go there a lot lately), but there are also additional photos at W Union Square, W Downtown, W Hoboken and W New York through May 12, 2013.

Richard Corman

Richard Corman

As far as limited edition photos go (the editions are of 50), they aren’t very expensive either, and can be purchased on Rock Paper Photo’s website. I was actually pretty surprised at their affordability, especially because that era of New York seems to be considered the new Golden Era, with endless cultural symbols rehashing those days in the media and with art as of late: when New York was dangerous, and that danger bred creativity, but more importantly, the world was still innocently internet-free.

Richard Corman

And really, these photos are pretty amazing.

What: Madonna: A Transformational Exhibition

Who: Richard Corman and George DuBose

Where: W Hotel Times Square, 1567 Broadway