Grounded #109

Laura AguilarWW-2006-133704

2006·Inkjet print·Image: 39.8 x 40.7 cm; paper: 55.9 x 43.2 (22 x 17 in.)

<p>With a keen eye for form, light, and color, Laura Aguilar photographed herself over a period of years in desert land-scapes across the Southwest. Posing near boulders and vegetation, she suggested a physical connection to lands that could be in the United States or Mexico. Aguilar rhymed her body with natural forms, envisioning a state of belonging free of societal conventions. At the same time one may wonder where the “natural” boundaries lie: between the United States and Mexico, or between the attractive and the abject.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 2006
Medium: Inkjet print
Dimensions: Image: 39.8 x 40.7 cm; paper: 55.9 x 43.2 (22 x 17 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Laura Aguilar

Artist

Laura Aguilar

Printmaking

Laura Aguilar was an American photographer whose large-format color work examined identity, desire, and the body through intimate self-portraiture and landscapes. Working primarily in chromogenic and Polaroid processes, she created unflinching images that positioned her Chicana lesbian experience at the center of her artistic inquiry. Her practice resisted conventional beauty standards and institutional narratives, asserting presence and agency through direct, unmediated representation. Aguilar's work gained sustained critical attention in the final decade of her life.

San Gabriel, CA, USA

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