Guide to the Laura Aguilar Papers M0829

Processed by Special Collections staff ; machine readable finding aid created by Steven Mandeville-Gamble
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
1997 ; revised 2020
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu


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.

 

Series 1. Correspondence

Box 1, Folder 1

Deborah Bright, The Passionate Camera, 1995

Box 1, Folder 2

CreArte, pART, 1994

Box 1, Folder 3

Gilbert Cuadros, 1994

Box 1, Folder 4

Letters of recommendation for Aguilar, 1991-1995

Box 1, Folder 5

"Letters on photos," 1987-1994

Box 1, Folder 6

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1995

Box 1, Folder 7

Pat Martel, 1990-92

Box 1, Folder 8

Siobhan Somerville, Purdue University, 1995

Box 1, Folder 9

Joyce Tenneson, 1991-1993

Box 1, Folder 10

Joyce Tenneson, 1993-1995

Box 2 (legal), Folder 1

Biennale di Venezia, 1993

Box 2 (legal), Folder 2

Suda House, 1980-90

 

Series 2. Exhibitions & Published Works

Box 3 (legal), Folder 1

Exhibitions and published works, 1986

Box 3 (legal), Folder 2

Exhibitions and published works, 1987

Box 3 (legal), Folder 3

Exhibitions and published works, 1989

Box 3 (legal), Folder 4

Exhibitions and published works, 1990

Box 3 (legal), Folder 5

Exhibitions and published works, 1990

Box 3 (legal), Folder 6

Exhibitions and published works, 1990

Box 3 (legal), Folder 7

Exhibitions and published works, 1991

Box 3 (legal), Folder 8

Exhibitions and published works, 1991

Box 3 (legal), Folder 9

Exhibitions and published works, 1992

Box 3 (legal), Folder 10

Exhibitions and published works, 1992

Box 3 (legal), Folder 11

Exhibitions and published works, 1992

Box 3 (legal), Folder 12

Exhibitions and published works, 1993

Box 4 (legal), Folder 1

Exhibitions and published works, 1993

Box 4 (legal), Folder 2

Exhibitions and published works, 1994

Box 4 (legal), Folder 3

Exhibitions and published works, 1994

Box 4 (legal), Folder 4

Exhibitions and published works, 1994

Box 4 (legal), Folder 5

Exhibitions and published works, 1995

Box 4 (legal), Folder 6

Exhibitions and published works, 1995

Box 4 (legal), Folder 7

Exhibitions and published works, 1995

Box 4 (legal), Folder 8

Exhibitions organized and curated by Aguilar, 1989-92

Box 4 (legal), Folder 9

Exhibitions, workshops, conferences, 1987-90, n.d.

Box 5 (OS)

Other Work

Box 5 (OS), Folder 1

Luz Calvo, paper draft, 1995

Box 5 (OS), Folder 2

Certificate, honorable mention, for Mexican exhibit, 1988

Box 5 (OS), Folder 3

Elan (East Los Angeles College: Winter 1980)

Box 5 (OS), Folder 4

Photo Nation, and undated (workshop) 1992

Box 5 (OS), Folder 5

Square Peg (Dec./Jan. 1992/93)

Box 5 (OS), Folder 6

"Writing about being dyslexia [sic] at Pasadena City College," 1983

Box 5 (OS), Folder 7

Nueva Luz, v. 4, no. 2 (1993)

 

Series 3. Prints

Box 6 (OS), Folder 1

Latina Lesbian series, 1986-1990

Box 7 (OS), Folder 1

Clothed/Unclothed series, list of photos

Box 7 (OS), Folder 2

Clothed/Unclothed series, nos. 1-17 1990-94,

Box 7 (OS), Folder 3

Clothed/Unclothed series, nos. 18-34 1990-94,

Box 7 (OS), Folder 4

Plush Pony series, 1992