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Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Scope and Contents
  • Conditions Governing Use

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: Department of Special Collections and University Archives
    Title: Laura Aguilar papers
    Creator: Aguilar, Laura
    Identifier/Call Number: M0829
    Physical Description: 2.75 Linear Feet (8 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1981-1995

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for research; material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Selected photographs have been digitized and are available online: https://purl.stanford.edu/jm174sx1579

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Laura Aguilar, 1996.

    Biographical / Historical

    Laura Aguilar is a photographer whose works are mostly portraits. Professor Chon Noriega of UCLA's Department of Film and Television writes that Aguilar's work documents "social groups and identities that remain invisible in mainstream culture: Latina lesbians, black couples, obese people, et al." She cooperates with her subjects so that "her work is not about power differentials between photographer and subject as is often, if implicitly, the case with...the social documentary tradition." An autobiographical element is also apparent in Aguilar's work. Art critic Diana Emery Hulick noted that "the circumstances of [Aguilar's] life are reflected overtly in her art." Aguilar, Hulick wrote, "is large, lesbian, and Chicana, acutely aware of her separateness, yet comfortable enough with herself to present us with a personal vision that is both intimate and authoritative."
    Laura Aguilar was born in west San Gabriel Valley, California in 1959. She has studied in the East Los Angeles Community College photography program and the Santa Fe Photographic Workshop, among other programs. In 1994/95 she was the recipient of a California Arts Council Fellowship and in 1991/92 of an Artist's Project Grant from Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE). Her work has appeared in exhibits in California, Texas, New York, and Mexico. Collections of her work can be found at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Department in Santa Monica, California. Aguilar lives in Rosemead, California.
    Diana Emery Hulick, "Laura Aguilar," Latin American Art 5:3 (1993), 52-54.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Laura Aguilar Papers, M0829, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Patricia Mazón, 1996 April

    Scope and Contents

    The Aguilar Papers and Photographs include the personal and professional materials of Laura Aguilar and occupy 2.75 linear feet. The collection traces through correspondence with mentors and friends both Aguilar's artistic development and her struggle with dyslexia. Her professional achievements are detailed in the series on exhibitions and published works. The print series includes original prints of three of Aguilar's photographic series: Latina Lesbians, Plush Pony, and Clothed/Unclothed.

    Conditions Governing Use

    While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Dyslexia.
    Hispanic American lesbians.
    Mexican American art.
    Obesity.
    Photography.
    Photoprints.
    Cuadros, Gilbert.
    House, Suda.
    Martel, Pat.
    Tenneson, Joyce.