GETTY MUSEUM ACQUIRES LAURA AGUILAR PHOTOGRAPHS
Thirty-five photographs by Laura Aguilar, the Los Angeles artist who died last year at the age of fifty-nine, have entered the collection of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles in the largest museum acquisition of Aguilar’s work to date. The artist was known for creating moving images that explored her identity as a queer Mexican American and that challenged traditional notions of beauty.
“Laura Aguilar left us far too soon, but her powerful work remains as a testament to her vision and talent,” said museum director Timothy Potts. “It is important and appropriate that these photographs will stay in Los Angeles, to which her practice had such a strong connection, and we are especially grateful to the Photographs Council and Jan and Trish de Bont for their vision in supporting the purchase of this important body of work.”
The acquisition includes prints from “Plush Pony,” 1992, a series of portraits taken at a now-defunct lesbian bar of the same name in East Los Angeles, and “The Latina Lesbian,” 1986–90, a series that engages with lesbians across various social and economic backgrounds through portraits that are accompanied by first-person narratives about their identities. It also features one of Aguilar’s most recognizable works, Three Eagles Flying, 1990, a triptych, depicting her body wrapped in the national flags of Mexico and the United States, that highlights the intricately intertwined issues of cultural identity and politics in this country.
Commenting on the works, Jim Ganz, senior curator in the Getty’s Department of Photographs, said: “The work of Laura Aguilar is incredibly important and helps us better understand the role photography has played in the diverse communities of Southern California. We are looking forward to featuring a selection of Aguilar’s work in the exhibition ‘Unseen: 35 Years of Collecting Photographs,’ opening in December 2019.”
