Abstract
Laurie Simmons was among a group of artists in the 1980’s working in photography,
film, video, and performance who recognized the influence of the mass media on the American
public. Simmons used her art practice to comment on these images tailored to the consumer.
Much of her photographic work of dolls and dollhouses challenges the viewer’s concept of the
relationship between women and their domestic interiors.
This thesis examines three photographs from the following series: Color Coordinated
Interiors (1982-1983), The Instant Decorator (2001-2004), and The Long House (2002-2004).
In these series, Simmons presents the home as a complex environment that both shapes and is
shaped by one’s identity. In each of these exemplary photographs, Simmons’s women become
literally and figuratively multifaceted in both public and private spaces in the home. Gradually,
throughout these three series, she separates the women from their surrounding objects. These
works show how she has explored issues of gender identity construction and in particular a
feminine identity. Informed by writings by Betty Friedan, Hannah Arendt, and a range of
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feminist scholars whose perspectives I found helpful and resonated with my own, I will explore
how Simmons uses interiors to construct and comment on feminine identity.
Laurie Simmons’s photographic work of dolls and dollhouses challenges viewers to
examine their domestic surroundings. Her work asks questions such as: What shapes a person’s
identity? Is identity static or in flux? Is there such a thing as a universal woman’s identity?
Much is written about feminism, the home, and art, but Simmons’s work has been underanalyzed
in these areas. This thesis examines Simmons’s work in light of these concerns.
