Untitled (Laura and Eric, jesus)
Maker
Laura Letinsky
(American, born in Canada, 1962)
Date1995
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsSheet: 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
Framed: 41-1/8 x 51-1/8 x 1-1/2 in. (104.5 x 129.9 x 3.8 cm)
Framed: 41-1/8 x 51-1/8 x 1-1/2 in. (104.5 x 129.9 x 3.8 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, Lulu M. Quantrell Bequest, by exchange
Copyright© 2013 Laura Letinsky
Object number1997.45
Status
Not on viewLetinsky’s early series of photographic portraits (1989–96), Venus Inferred, depicts intimate relationships within interior spaces. Many of these domestic scenes may at first suggest a naturalistic disorder: unmade beds with sleepy bodies lingering, crumbled clothing or linens, and the occasional messy kitchen. However, Letinsky’s images are carefully composed, and their subjects, far from candid, are instead fully aware of the photographer’s presence in the room. The intimate moments captured in these images are thus, in a sense, performed for the camera. In several works within this series, such as Untitled (Laura and Eric, jesus), Letinsky turns the gaze towards herself. In this photograph, the angle of the camera and the presence of the mirror collapse the perceived space of the room, and complicate the relationship between the two people in the room. Letinsky’s reflection seems to make eye contact with the viewer, as if reminding us that she, too, is looking in from some distance.
