Laura Letinsky

Laura L. Letinsky (born Canada, 1962) is a contemporary photographer, best known for her still-lives.

Much of Letinsky's work alludes to human presence, without including any actual figures. For example, in the "Morning and Melancholia" (c. 1997-2001), and the "I Did Not Remember I Had Forgotten" (c. 2002-2004) series, Letinsky seems to document the aftermath of a sumptuous gathering or dinner party. [Emma Pearse, “Photographer Laura Letinsky Fails to Clean Her Plate,” "New York Magazine," Entertainment, Vulture, 11 April 2008. [http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/04/photographer_laura_letinsky_fa.html] ] Faded flower petals intermingle with empty glasses and crumbs of food on partially cleared tables, often covered with a white linen that bears the mark of spilled wine. As alluded in the title "Morning and Melancholia" these scenes are often filled with a fresh, clear light, as though one is viewing from the perspective of the morning after, what the host failed to clean up the evening before. However, the title of the series itself is a reference to an essay by Freud, "Mourning and Melancholia," which discusses the human response to loss. The title "I Did Not Remember I Had Forgotten" also has a literary source; it refers to a line by St. Augustine, commenting on memory, 'One would never say I did not remember I had forgotten.' Letinsky responded:

The recent "Somewhere, Somewhere" series (c. 2005) explores similar themes of seemingly vacated domestic settings. ["Laura Letinsky: SomewhereSomewhere," 2005-04-28 until 2005-05-28 at Monique Meloche gallery, [http://www.moniquemeloche.com/] review, "AbsoluteArts.com: Indepth Art News". [http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2005/04/29/32960.html] ] Empty rooms and corridors bear only traces of their inhabitants: a scrap of paper on the floor, a lamp left hanging on the bare wall - these photographs might show apartments in the liminal time between tenants, full of old memories on the one hand, and expectation on the other.

Letinsky is the author of several books, [http://www.amazon.com/Venus-Inferred-Laura-Letinsky/dp/0226473457/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216915697&sr=1-2] including:

*"Space/Sight/Self" with Elizabeth Bloom (Chicago: Smart Museum of Art, 1999)
*"Venus Inferred" written with Lauren Berlant (University of Chicago Press, 2000)
*"Laura Letinsky: Now Again" (Exhibitions International/Galerie Kusseneers; Bilingual edition, 2006)

Letinsky holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba (class of 1986), and an MFA from Yale University, 1991. [Joseph Bellows Gallery, "Laura Letinsky, Artist Bio." [http://www.josephbellows.com/artists/laura-letinsky/bio/] ] She is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. [The University of Chicago, Department of Visual Arts, Faculty: Laura Letinsky. [http://dova.uchicago.edu/f_lauraletinsky.html] ]

References