The Other Women

Though she’s consistently dubbed a conceptual photographer,Anne Collierdoesn’tfind much use for that label. “I think that term is a result of not knowing what to dowith the differentiation between photography as art and other kinds of photography,” she says. “It’s all conceptual, of course.” The focus of Collier’s pictures is often magazines, record covers, film stills, and posters featuring women who are culturally indelible for their work on either side (or both sides) of the lens.

Her photographs of photos of sirens like Faye Dunaway and Marilyn Monroe, both wielding cameras, and one of Cindy Sherman in gentlemanly drag onthe cover of L’Uomo Vogue, are a few of the highlights of Collier’s midcareerretrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago from November 22 through March 8, 2015. “Much of my subjectmatter has an autobiographical dimension to it. I’m interested in ourcollective relationships with images but also how we then use them to create more personal, idiosyncratic narratives for ourselves.”