Laurie Simmons

A prominent member of the Pictures Generation, photographer and filmmaker Laurie Simmons uses dolls, puppets, and other anthropomorphized subjects to explore objectification, domesticity, and American consumerism—their effect on women in particular. Since the 1970s, she has photographed miniature scenes of post-war domestic splendor, shot a series focusing on a custom-made Japanese “love doll,” and made a debut feature starring Meryl Streep alongside a cast of puppets and Alvin Ailey dancers dressed as inanimate objects. Simmons has enjoyed solo shows in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, and beyond. Her work belongs in the collections of the International Center of Photography, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moderna Museet, the Guggenheim Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Simmons has also shot editorials for publications including New York magazine, W, and the New York Times and collaborated with fashion brands such as Thakoon, Peter Jensen, Comme des Garçons, and Chanel.