About the Work
Celebrated photographer Collier Schorr confronts the ambiguities of identity formation in Self Portrait # 1 (American), part of an early series of four self-portraits. Posed with a borrowed Harley Davidson, grease smeared across her face and eyes squinting, Schorr slips into a fictive reality. Resolutely American in its historical references to ’50s biker culture and Elvis-style pinups, but actually taken in Germany, the image invites multiple levels of interpretation. The artist performs roles of class, gender, and sexuality in this rare self-portrait.
About the Artist
Collier Schorr has photographed American and German youth, soldiers, and flowers in her artwork for over twenty years, in addition to shooting fashion editorials and celebrity portraits for Interview, Vogue, and Numéro. She is best known for startling and personal images of American high school wrestlers in the throes of struggle; her other work follows this examination of gender construction, fact and fiction in photography, and gaze and desire with a feminist critique. Often conceptually driven, Schorr has also used drawing, collage, and performance to illustrate her emotional and critical perspective.
One of the few photographers featured in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, Schorr’s work has been exhibited internationally, including a 2006 retrospective at Badischer Kunstverein, Germany; a solo exhibition at CoCA Kronika, Bytom, Poland in 2010, and a recent exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. She was a fellow at the American Academy in Berlin, Germany from 2007–2008.
Proceeds from the sale of this work will benefit the Guggenheim Museum.
