A Genuine Simulation of ...
Artist
Suzy Lake
(American, Canadian, born 1947)
Date1974
Mediumset of seven serigraphs
DimensionsSheet (each): 66.4 × 51 cm (26 1/8 × 20 1/16 in.)
Frame (each): 66.7 × 51.5 cm (26 1/4 × 20 1/4 in.)
Image (each): 33.5 × 25.1 cm (13 3/16 × 9 7/8 in.)
Frame (each): 66.7 × 51.5 cm (26 1/4 × 20 1/4 in.)
Image (each): 33.5 × 25.1 cm (13 3/16 × 9 7/8 in.)
Credit LineThe Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern. Gift of Wayne and Claudia Boyce 1992.
Object number1992.12.a-g
Classificationsprint
On View
Not on viewSuzy Lake was among the first female artists in Canada to adopt performance, video and photography to explore the politics of gender, the body, and identity. A Genuine Simulation of... is similar to an earlier work comprised of a series of photographs onto which the artist applied actual make-up. By repeating the image of the same woman, the variation of faces evokes a range of possible identities. The presence of make-up is used to evoke notions of what is ‘natural’ or ‘glamourous’ for a woman, while in some instances the layers of colour make the face appear clownish or theatrical. By representing several versions of herself, the artist suggests that no version is authentic, just as the phrase “a genuine simulation” is a contradiction.
Lake has used self-portraiture throughout her career to scrutinize perceptions of ageing, beauty and gender. Following the social and political unrest of the 1960’s, Suzy Lake emigrated from Detroit to Montreal, and then to Toronto, teaching while pursuing her art practice. Responding to the needs of her communities, she was a co-founder of Vehicule Art Inc. and the Toronto Photographers Workshop. Lake received Professor Emerita status from the University of Guelph.
Lake has used self-portraiture throughout her career to scrutinize perceptions of ageing, beauty and gender. Following the social and political unrest of the 1960’s, Suzy Lake emigrated from Detroit to Montreal, and then to Toronto, teaching while pursuing her art practice. Responding to the needs of her communities, she was a co-founder of Vehicule Art Inc. and the Toronto Photographers Workshop. Lake received Professor Emerita status from the University of Guelph.
