LAURA LETINSKY

ALLISON GIAMBRUNO
BACKGROUND
Born in 1962, Laura Letinsky is a Canadian-born, Chicago-based
photographer and a professor in the Department of Visual Art at the
University of Chicago. Laura received her BFA from the University
of Manitoba in 1986 and then her MFA from Yale University's School
of Art in 1991. Laura's career focuses on the question of what
constitutes a photograph, art in academia, and perception. Her work
has been exhibited in places such as the Museum of Modern Art in
New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the
Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
"THE PHOTOGRAPHS BECOME A KIND OF

R H E T O R I C A L F O R C E T H AT T H E N S H A P E S

H O W W E S E E A N D U N D E R S TA N D T H E

WORLD."
WORK

In her early career, Laura's work consisted of photographing

people and their rawness; however, as her work progressed, she
started to shoot still-life objects and curated scenes of meals or
parties. Later in her career, she moved into collages as well as
creating ceramics. Her work has been featured in countless
publications, some of which include BRIDES, New York Times,
and TIME.
WORK
INTERESTS

Laura's work is very much about more than just the food in her
still-life photos. Her interests lie in discovering what a photograph
is, especially in a social and economic context. She compares her
most recent work to the idea of "Figuring out how to get up, eat
breakfast, get my kid to school, fall in love, get sick, etc."

This artist often focuses on muted colors her reasoning being, "The resonance, or dissonance with this color combination I think speaks
to our aspiration for harmony, yet, its tentativeness is fraught with anxiety and having to hold multiple and contradictory “truths”
simultaneously"
METHODS
METHODS
COMMUNITY

Not only is Laura an incredible artist but very much focussed on

building a community for female artists as well.
Here, the birthday club is presented as a group of female artists,
including Marion Belanger, Mary Berridge, Ann Burke Daly, Laura
Letinsky, Tanya Marcuse, and Jennette Williams, all of whom met at the
Yale MFA program. Using these friendships as an act of feminism and
community, the women get together to critique their works, celebrate
milestones together, and even give each other photographs.
IN THE STYLE OF
IN THE STYLE OF
I M I T AT I O N
C I T AT I O N S
A d m i n i s t r a t o r, M u s é e . “ I n C o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h L a u r a L e t i n s k y. ” M u s é e M a g a z i n e , M u s é e M a g a z i n e , 2 6
O c t . 2 0 2 0 , m u s e e m a g a z i n e . c o m / f e a t u r e s / 2 0 1 9 / 1 0 / 7 / i n - c o n v e r s a t i o n - w i t h - l a u r a - l e t i n s k y.

Cahill , Mary Clare. “Laura Leti nsky for Brides.” Mary Clare Cahil l - Photo Direct or, Mary Cl are Cahill,
maryclarecahill.com/brides-59.

H a r r i s o n , E s t h e r. “ L a u r a L e t i n s k y a n d T h e H a u n t i n g R o m a n c e o f S t i l l L i f e s . ” L a u r a L e t i n s k y a n d t h e
H a u n t i n g R o m a n c e o f S t i l l L i f e s | A r t B e r l i n . d e , w w w. a r t b e r l i n . d e / l a u r a - l e t i n s k y / .

H a u g h n e y , C h r i s t i n e . “ G i v i n g L e f t o v e r s a N e w P l a c e a t t h e Ta b l e . ” T h e N e w Yo r k T i m e s , T h e N e w Yo r k
Ti m e s , 9 O c t . 2 0 1 2 , w w w. n y t i m e s . c o m / 2 0 1 2 / 1 0 / 1 0 / a r t s / d e s i g n / l a u r a - l e t i n s k y s - f o o d - p h o t o g r a p h y. h t m l .

Ise, Claudine. “Laura Letinsky at Moniquemeloche.” The Online Edition of Artforum International
M a g a z i n e , 3 F e b . 2 0 1 0 , w w w. a r t f o r u m . c o m / p i c k s / l a u r a - l e t i n s k y - 2 4 8 2 3 .

K a t z , M a r n i E l y s e . “ A r t m o n d a y : L a u r a L e t i n k s y S t i l l L i f e P h o t o g r a p h s . ” A RT m o n d a y, A RT m o n d a y, 1 5
July 2013, stylecarrot.com/2013/07/15/artmonday-laura-letinksy-still-life-photographs/.

“ L a u r a L e t i n s k y . ” Ya n c e y R i c h a r d s o n , w w w . y a n c e y r i c h a r d s o n . c o m / a r t i s t s / l a u r a - l e t i n s k y .
“ L a u r a L e t i n s k y : I n s p i r a t i o n ( P a r t o f F e a s t F e s t i v a l ) . ” Yo u T u b e , T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C h i c a g o , 2 8 M a r .
2012, youtu.be/B9mlwgi-mZg.

S i n g e r, D a l i a h . “ M e e t t h e A r t i s t : L a u r a L e t i n s k y. ” 5 2 8 0 , 2 6 M a r. 2 0 1 4 , w w w. 5 2 8 0 . c o m / m e e t - t h e - a r t i s t -
laura-letinsky/.