Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell
Friday, March 22, 2019. 6pm – 8pm
Exhibition continues through August 18 in the Main Gallery
La exposición continúa hasta el 18 de agosto

This is the first comprehensive retrospective of photographer Laura Aguilar (1959-2018), as it assembles the largest collection of her work spanning three decades. In photographs that are frequently political as well as personal, Aguilar offers candid portrayals of herself, her friends and family, and her Chicana/Latina and LGBTQ communities. With her iconic 1990 triptych (Three Eagles Flying), Aguilar set the stage for her future work by using her nude body as an overt and courageous rebellion against the colonization of Chicana identities: racial, gendered, cultural, and sexual. Despite using the body to center her visual discourse, Aguilar never intended to speak for any specific political or feminist ideology. On the contrary, her practice intuitively evolved as she sought to negotiate and navigate her ethnic and sexual identity, her challenges with depression and auditory dyslexia, and the acceptance of her physique. This exhibition considers the story of the artist who for most of her life struggled to communicate with words, yet ironically emerged as a powerful voice for numerous and diverse marginalized groups.

Esta es la primera retrospectiva integral de la fotógrafa Laura Aguilar (1959-2018), ya que reúne la mayor colección de su obra que abarca tres décadas. En fotografías que con frecuencia son tanto políticas como personales, Aguilar brinda cándidos retratos de sí misma, de sus amigos y familia, y de las comunidades chicanas-latinas y LGBTQ. Con su icónico tríptico (Tres águilas volando) de 1990, Aguilar monta el escenario para su futuro trabajo utilizando su cuerpo desnudo a manera de rebelión expresa y valiente contra la colonización de las identidades chicanas: racial, de género, cultural y sexual. A pesar de utilizar el cuerpo para centralizar su discurso visual, nunca fue la intención de Aguilar ser vocera de ninguna ideología política o feminista específica. Por el contrario, su práctica evolucionó intuitivamente ya que buscaba negociar y navegar su identidad sexual y étnica, sus desafíos con la depresión y su dislexia auditiva, y la aceptación de su cuerpo. Esta exhibición considera la historia de la artista que durante gran parte de su vida luchó por comunicarse con palabras aunque irónicamente emergió como una poderosa voz para numerosos y diversos grupos marginalizados

Please note that doors open at 6:00 pm on March 22nd, and the exhibition will not be open to the public prior to that time.

Organized by the Vincent Price Art Museum in collaboration with the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Curated by Sybil Venegas
Exhibition catalog is available in the Tzintzuntzán gift shop

Image:
Laura Aguilar, Nature Self-Portrait #2 / Autorretrato naturaleza #2, 1996, gelatin silver print / impresión plata sobre gelatina. © Laura Aguilar / Courtesy of the Laura Aguilar Trust of 2016 and the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

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Tags: Chicago, Laura Aguilar, Lower West Side, National Museum of Mexican Art, Show and Tell