Response to Lorna Simpson

In my opinion, Michele Leight seems to sum up my feeling about Lorna Simpson's art very well when she writes:

"In Simpson's hands the camera is a potent and probing truth-seeking device. She also knows how to heighten the sense of drama and suspense by what she does not divulge."

Lorna Simpson's art is a well-balanced fusion combining the racial conversation of Glenn Ligon, the daring language of Barbara Kruger, and the elegantly graceful images of Neshat. Her subjects are intended to be perfect and well-poised in their photographs. In sharp contrast, the texts usually associated with the images can be very cynical and clever.

In one of my favorite pieces discussed titled "Figure," Simpson portrays a woman standing in dark light. Around her are all different phrases associated with the word figure.

"Figured the worst"

"Figured on all the times there was no camera"

"He was disfigured"

"Figured she was suspect"

"Figured legality had nothing to do with it"

Her words are chosen precisely and correctly. They always seem to aim at a specific audience without going so far as to use pronouns like Kruger. They also play around like this, taking simple words or everyday phrases and giving them a meaning much larger and poignant.

She is, very correctly a truth seeker. Her work shows a deep search for what is real. In a way, her art attempts to portray the reality of racism, sexism, and other prejudices in America. In another way, her work is a simple exploration taking place within the image. What interests me the most about her work is the way she hides the faces of all of her subjects. I do this myself when photographing, mainly because it preserves the subjectivity of the image. Each of these people can be anyone we know.

The picture I chose above is the one I found to be the most controversial and interesting. A woman lies on her side away from the camera as if she's being medically examined. To her right, words reveal she's looking for a secretarial position. It's implied, through the photograph that she obtained her job by means of something different than her smarts. It's also possible to gather that if she stays healthy and beautiful, she will maintain her position. I like this photograph because it accurately and honestly explores the career world for an American woman, in this case an African American woman. The woman is being cheated and used for her looks instead of for her talents and abilities. Every woman deserves to be taken seriously, but in reality many still are not.