Los Angeles-based artist Vaughan Larsen (BFA, Art: Photography, 2019) has exhibited their award-winning work in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, and internationally in Germany, Italy, and Russia. And now, they are returning to Wisconsin for their first solo exhibition, “Everything I Could Ever Want.”
In their new work, Vaughan Larsen challenges the American landscape photography tradition by investigating the anthropomorphization and gendering of nature. Through a critical exploration of the perception of nature as feminine and using the camera as a tool for self-inquiry, Larsen examines traditional gender constructs imposed on both individuals and spaces in a visual journey that embodies what it means to be seen.
Tell us a bit about your upcoming exhibition, Everything I Could Ever Want? What inspired the title, and what can visitors expect to see?
This exhibition will largely consist of self-portrait photographs. Some depict me alone, while others were made in collaboration with friends and chosen family. The strongest theme running through all of the work is Community. I use photography as a way to further explore my own relationships – meaning both my relationship to myself, in particular the relationship to my gender, as well as relationships with others. In my images, I’m showing the always-present magic and love that I’d like to think we all experience when around certain people in life.
As for the title, I wanted something that would encapsulate this never-ending journey of self-discovery I’m sharing through the work. I don’t mean to say, “please come enter this room and look how I’ve achieved everything I’ve ever wanted,” but instead I’m showing moments of my chasing towards that dream. I recently realized that I’m beginning to experience things in my life, particularly aspects of my journey in being trans, that I never particularly wanted in the past. But now that I’m experiencing them, I want them more than anything.
As an alum of the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts, can you share how your time at the university influenced your artistic journey and led you to this exhibition?
The sense of community within the photography program was very strong during my time there. I was constantly being encouraged to push my work further, and there was always space to lay groundwork for whatever path I wished to take, rather than being in a niche photography program at another school that’s aimed at only something specific such as fashion photography. Milwaukee as a city has been a wonderful incubator and nest for me to repeatedly return to, and I’m also grateful for that.
Your artwork explores themes of identity, gender constructs, and relationships. How these themes are represented in your upcoming exhibition and the significance they hold for you as an artist?
The nude self-portraits showing me alone in nature (such as the piece Green Doesn’t Always Mean Fertile) were made in 2021 as a direct exploration of thinking about my body and if I wanted to start taking Estrogen Hormone Replacement Therapy. For these images I was reflecting on how, historically, most landscape photographers like Ansel Adams are men, and something like 85% of nudes in museums depict women. To make these photographs was to push against both of these facts, carving a space for a body like mine.
I’ve also realized as I’ve gotten older how deeply important building relationships is to me and is a core aspect of how I navigate life. In these photographs, I’m sharing aspects of this journey and the world I’m building for myself and others around me. The world we’re actively building together, particularly centered around the deepness of trans love and connection.
Finally, can you tell us about any upcoming projects or future directions in your artistic journey that you’re excited about after this exhibition?
I’m very excited about this new direction of live performance in my work! I forgot how performing live with an audience can create this very intense, fleeting connection with everyone in the room. I’ve also been exploring sculpture a bit more, which is shown in the MOWA show. In a larger lens, I just turned 30 this past spring and have been manically bouncing between many different ideas for my future, such as staying in Los Angeles and weaseling my way deeper into the film industry, moving to New York, another country, or applying for grad school! Hopefully my head will be more screwed on after this exhibition has finished, and I can give you a clearer answer.
Everything I Could Ever Want opens October 13 at MOWA | DTN, the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s satellite location inside Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. An opening reception will be held on October 13 from 5-7 p.m. and includes a performance at 6 p.m., both open to the public. The exhibition is on view through January 14, 2024.
For more information, visit the exhibition site on MOWA’s website.