Laura Aguilar

12 Lauras

Maker

Laura Aguilar (American, 1959-2018 b. in San Gabriel, California)

Title

12 Lauras

Year

1993

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

61 x 43.2 cm (24 x 17 inches) (each)

Identification

Edition

2/4

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

2021.28.1al

Type

Exhibition History

The Performative Self-Portrait
May 13, 2023 – Nov 12, 2023

Label copy

In these self-portraits, Laura Aguilar poses in the nude, gazing at her camera as she displays herself from multiple angles in a gesture of vulnerability. Aguilar struggled with her fatness, and she used photography as a means to confront her own personal misgivings.

Voluptuous is a kind of way to put it, but really I’m fat. I am not saying I like being this way. I have always felt a lot of anger about my size. My work is a way of coming to terms with my body, with learning to be comfortable with who you are. I have lost some weight but I would like to lose more. Unfortunately, it’s something that all women struggle with. We can’t all be a size zero. I’m trying to be really honest about accepting my body.

–Conor Moynihan, assistant curator of prints, drawings, and photographs

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Tombstone

Laura Aguilar (American, 1959-2018 b. in San Gabriel, California)
12 Lauras, 1993
Twelve gelatin silver prints
61 x 43.2 cm (24 x 17 inches) (each)
Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 2021.28.1al

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