Louise Lawler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louise Lawler
|
|
|---|---|
Lawler at Museum Ludwig, Cologne
|
|
| Born |
Bronxville, New York
|
| Education | Cornell University, B.F.A. |
| Occupation | Artist, Photographer |
| Years active | 1972–present |
Louise Lawler (born 1947) is an American artist and photographer. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Since the late 1970s, Lawler has focused on taking pictures of other artists' artworks. She pays close attention to where these artworks are placed and how they are shown.
For example, her photos might show paintings hanging in a museum. They could also show art in a rich collector's home. She also photographs art being set up in a gallery. Sometimes, she shows sculptures being viewed by people. Lawler is part of a group called the Pictures Generation. Other artists in this group include Cindy Sherman and Barbara Kruger.
Contents
Early Life and Art Journey
Louise Lawler was born in 1947 in Bronxville, New York. She studied art at Cornell University. In 1969, she moved to Manhattan. She soon got a job at the Castelli Gallery. There, she met Janelle Reiring. Janelle later helped start the Metro Pictures art gallery in 1980.
Exploring Art and Its Surroundings
Lawler takes photos of artworks in many places. She photographs them in people's homes, in galleries, and even in auction houses. She also photographs art stored away in museums. Besides photography, she creates conceptual art and installation art. Conceptual art focuses on the idea behind the art. Installation art involves creating a special art experience in a space.
Some of her works, like "Book of Matches," are about time passing. Others, like Helms Amendment (963) (1989), are about politics. Lawler's art explores how we decide what art is good. She looks at how art becomes popular. She is interested in what happens to art after the artist finishes it. Her work often shows how the art world works every day. It shows how art is bought, sold, and displayed.
Early Artistic Explorations
Birdcalls (1972/2008) is an audio artwork. In it, Lawler changes the names of famous male artists into bird sounds. She "parrots" names like Warhol. This piece makes fun of how male artists were often given more attention. People sometimes call it "Patriarchal Roll Call."
While working at Castelli Gallery, Lawler made her own paintings and photos. But for her first gallery show in 1978, she did something different. She borrowed a small horse portrait from Aqueduct Racetrack. It had been hanging over a copy machine. She put it on an empty wall at Artists Space. To show it was "appropriated" (borrowed), she added two spotlights. One lit the picture. The other pointed out the window at a nearby bank building. This hinted that something interesting was happening inside. It also added an idea about money to the art.
In 1979, Lawler showed A Movie Will Be Shown Without the Picture. This happened at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. The full sound of the movie The Misfits played. But the movie screen stayed completely blank. A black card announced the event. Lawler has shown this piece many times since then.
Later Artworks and Insights
Lawler developed her unique style in the early 1980s. This was a time when the art market was growing fast. In 1981, she had her first solo show in Los Angeles. In 1982, for her first show at Metro Pictures, Lawler displayed several artworks from the gallery's storage. She wanted them to be sold together as one piece. It was called Arranged by Louise Lawler. The price was the total of all the artworks, plus 10% for Lawler. But the piece did not sell.
A big moment for Lawler came in 1984. She was allowed to photograph art in the homes of collectors Burton and Emily Hall Tremaine. This happened when their collection was being shown. She also got to photograph some of their art at Christie's auction house. In this series, Lawler photographed Jackson Pollock's Frieze (1953–55). She also photographed a fancy soup bowl in their dining room.
In Living Room Corner, Arranged by Mr. & Mrs. Burton Tremaine, New York City (1984), a painting by Robert Delaunay hangs above a TV. Next to it is a Roy Lichtenstein sculpture that was made into a lamp. This photo was taken in the Tremaines' living room. Another work, Monogram (1984), shows Jasper Johns' White flag (1955–58) over a bed. These photos place valuable art among everyday objects. They show how the surroundings change how we see art.
In Fragment/Frame/Text (#163) (1984), Lawler photographed a museum label next to a landscape painting. Only a small part of the painting was visible. In Foreground (1994), a photo shows Jeff Koons' Rabbit (1986) next to a refrigerator. By changing the camera's focus, Lawler showed how the art world influences art. For example, a label at an auction house might be the main focus of her photo. Only a small part of the actual artwork would be seen. This made people think about art as something to be bought and sold.
Lawler also photographed behind-the-scenes views of art. She took pictures at art fairs like Art Basel. She showed workers moving a Richard Serra sculpture. She photographed gloved hands moving a Gerhard Richter painting. She even showed Maurizio Cattelan's giant Picasso head wrapped in plastic. Her 2004 show was called "Louise Lawler and Others." This was to recognize the artists whose works she photographed. For an exhibition in Venice, she photographed artworks still in their shipping crates.
Recent Art Projects
In 2013, Lawler worked with artist Liam Gillick. She created a long vinyl sticker for the Casey Kaplan gallery. The sticker showed stretched-out versions of her earlier photos. These photos were of artworks by artists like Edgar Degas and Richard Serra. But the artworks were so stretched they looked like blurry streaks of color.
For a billboard project at the High Line, Lawler created Triangle (adjusted to fit) (2008/2009/2011). This image was taken at Sotheby's auction house in New York. It featured works by artists like Donald Judd and Frank Stella.
Art Exhibitions
Lawler has had many solo exhibitions. These include shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2017) and Museum Ludwig in Cologne (2013). Her work has also been shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. She was part of the Whitney Biennials in 1991, 2000, and 2008. Lawler's art was also included in Documenta 12 in Germany. She often shows her work in everyday places, not just art galleries.
Lawler has been represented by Metro Pictures in New York since 1982. She is also represented by other galleries in Paris and Berlin.
Art Collections
Lawler's artworks are in many important collections. These include the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Her art is also in the Tate Britain in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Art Market Success
In 2004, one of Lawler's photographs set a record for her work. The photo was called Monogram Arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tremaine, New York City 1984. It showed a perfectly made bed with Jasper Johns's famous White Flag (1955–1958) hanging above it. It was expected to sell for $40,000 to $60,000. But it sold for $125,600!
Books
Artists' books
- 1981 Passage to the North, a structure by Lawrence Weiner and photographs by Louise Lawler, New York: Tongue Press
- 1978 Untitled, Black/White, (text by Janelle Reiring), New York
- 1978 Untitled, Red/Blue, New York
- 1972 Untitled, (with Joanne Caring), New York: The Roseprint Detective Club
Books
- Louise Lawler and Others, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2004, ISBN: 3-7757-1420-0
- Louise Lawler: An Arranagement of Pictures, (essay by Johannes Meinhardt, interview with Louise Lawler by Douglas Crimp), Assouline, Paris/ New York, 2000
- Louise Lawler, Monochrome, (essay by Phyllis Rosenzweig), Washington: Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 1997
- Louise Lawler – For Sale, (essays by Dietmar Elger, Thomas Weski), Leipzig: Reihe Cantz, 1994
See also
- Appropriation art
- Conceptual art
- Neo-conceptual art
