ABSTRACT
The life and work of Laura Aguilar are in many ways singular in the histories of art and of photography. A curtained window partially frames her and provides diffused light. The photographer's repeated use of a window in these representations may serve a purely necessary function, that of providing needed illumination, but may also suggest Aguilar's awareness of Renaissance and Baroque conventions of the window as a framing or compositional device. The series Don't Tell Her Art Can't Hurt (1993) portrays Aguilar's despair when trying to make a place for herself in the art world. In the companion photograph, both women are ‘unclothed’, wear small-scale jewellery, and pose in profile which emphasizes the prominently pregnant abdomen and protruding nipples of the woman on the right. The Clothed/Unclothed series also marks an important turning point in Aguilar's art production. Nature allowed Aguilar's body to expand beyond its external contours, to dissolve and transcend the perceived limitations of its boundaries.
