Laurie Simmons: Lying Book (Color)

Laurie Simmons: Lying Book (Color) 1990

One of my favorite artists is Laurie Simmons mainly because I have always been attracted to art that combines an actual form of the human body and metaphorical situations that may be taken literally. For example, this art work screams "stuck in a book" and the body trying to enter into a fantasy that has already been written for them- a place where the author has dictated the present, past, and future. Simmons' use of mannequins or small figures is seen throughout her work, even though the heads are sometimes replaced with a gun or even a toilet.

Simmons' body of work reminds me of something child-like that has been provoked by something much more adult. Perhaps little girls can use this as a catapult into the real world where dolls are true adults and the fantasy has been erased.

The artist's site can be located here.

Alexandra Parfene