Laurie Simmons: How We See
In How We See, Laurie Simmons draws on the “Doll Girls” subculture of people who alter themselves with makeup, dress, and even cosmetic surgery to look like Barbie, baby dolls, and anime characters. Evoking the tradition of the high-school portrait — when teenagers present their idealized selves to the camera — Simmons photographed fashion models seated in front of a curtain, cropped from the shoulders down.
Despite the banal pose, each portrait is activated by kaleidoscopic lighting and small, surprising details that produce a nearly psychedelic effect. The models have preternaturally large, sparkling eyes that are painted on their closed lids, a well-known Doll Girls technique, and stare out at the visitor with an uncanny, alien gaze.
How We See draws an arc between portraits traded among classmates to the persona play that Doll Girls rapidly execute on smartphones, where the continuous feeds of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter allow alternate versions of the self to appear, morph, and disappear.
Laurie Simmons: How We See is organized by Assistant Curator Kelly Taxter.
In the Press
“Simmons’s camera enhances the dreamlike quality of her subjects.”
— Aperture
“Simmons’s new photographs meet this strange moment in time with a lightly surreal splendor, combined with a dash of humor…”
— ARTnews
“An eerie reflection of our sightless life online.”
— Financial Times
Laurie Simmons: How We See is made possible by the Melva Bucksbaum Fund for Contemporary Art. Additional generous support is provided by Toby Devan Lewis, The Alice M. and Thomas J. Tisch Foundation, Ann and Mel Schaffer, and Vera Schapps.
Installation view of the exhibition Laurie Simmons: How We See. The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: David Heald. Art © Laurie Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Salon 94
Exhibition highlights
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Laurie Simmons, How We See / Ajak (Violet), 2015, Pigment print, 70 × 48 inches (178 × 122 cm). © Laurie Simmons, courtesy the artist and Salon 94.
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Laurie Simmons, How We See/Lindsay (Gold), 2015, Pigment print, 70 × 48 inches (178 × 122 cm). © Laurie Simmons, courtesy the artist and Salon 94.
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Laurie Simmons, How We See/Edie (Green), 2015, Pigment print, 70 × 48 inches (178 × 122 cm). © Laurie Simmons, courtesy the artist and Salon 94.
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Installation view of the exhibition Laurie Simmons: How We See. The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: David Heald. Art © Laurie Simmons, courtesy the artist and Salon 94.
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Installation view of the exhibition Laurie Simmons: How We See. The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: David Heald. Art © Laurie Simmons, courtesy the artist and Salon 94.