Guide to the Laura Aguilar Papers and Photographs,
1981-1995.
Processed by Special Collections staff ; machine readable finding aid created by Steven Mandeville-Gamble
Department of Special Collections
Green Library
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, CA 94305-6004
Phone: (650) 725-1022
Email: speccollref@stanford.edu
URL: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/
© 1997
The Board of Trustees of Stanford University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Laura Aguilar Papers and Photographs,
1981-1995.
Collection number : M829
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, California
Contact Information
- Department of Special Collections
- Green Library
- Stanford University Libraries
- Stanford, CA 94305-6004
- Phone: (650) 725-1022
- Email: speccoll@sulmail.stanford.edu
- URL: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/
- Processed by:
- Special Collections staff
- Encoded by:
- Steven Mandeville-Gamble
© 1997
Descriptive Summary
Title: Laura Aguilar Papers and Photographs,
Date (inclusive): 1981-1995.
Collection Number: Special Collections M829
Creator:
Aguilar, Laura
Extent:
2.75 linear feet.
Contributing Institution:
Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Provenance:
Acquired from Laura Aguilar, 1996.
Acquisition Information:
Purchased from Laura Aguilar, 1996.
Access Restrictions:
Consult Special Collections staff.
Publication rights:
Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For
permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of item], Laura Aguilar Papers and photographs, M829, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries,
Stanford, Calif.
Processed by:
Patricia Mazón,
1996 April
Biographical Note:
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.
Scope and Contents Note:
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.
Arrangement
The papers total 7 boxes and are arranged in the following series:
- Correspondence
- Exhibitions and Published Works
- Prints
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cuadros, Gilbert.
House, Suda.
Martel, Pat.
Tenneson, Joyce.
Dyslexia.
Hispanic American lesbians.
Mexican American art.
Obesity.
Photography.
Photoprints.
FREQUENTLY-MENTIONED ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
Prominent institutions in the collection include:
- Biennale di Venezia
- Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Prominent or frequently-mentioned individuals include:
- Gilbert Cuadros
- Suda House
- Pat Martel
- Joyce Tenneson
Container Listing
Box 1, Folder 1
Deborah Bright, The Passionate Camera,
1995
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 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
SERIES II. EXHIBITIONS AND 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), 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,
1992and undated (workshop)
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)
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,
1990-94,nos. 1-17
Box 7 (OS), Folder 3
Clothed/Unclothed series,
1990-94,nos. 18-34
