Lorna Simpson


My strongest memory is listening to Richard Pryor albums in our house as a child, like during the day in the summertime. And then, of course, you imitated him, which everyone does if you had these albums. It was an amazing use of language and description, drawing a picture of American life as well, that he depicted in his performances. This was really, really informative about language and really affirmative about storytelling. Within America, there is this thing of just trying to define ethnicities very narrowly, and forgetting the history. -- Lorna Simpson



Lorna Simpson was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960. She attended the High School of Art and Design and received her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, both in New York, before moving across the country to University of California at San Diego where she received her Master's Degree in Fine Arts.

After receiving her MFA, Simpson began her career as a documentary photographer. Since then, she became well known for her work in which she incorporated images with words to create pieces which touch upon

the likes of gender, identity, and history. In the 1990's, Simpson began to experiment by putting her photographs not only on glossy paper but on other textures like felt and silk screens.

In 2007, the Whitney Museum of Art in New York featured an exhibit of Simpson's work commemorating her 20 years in the industry. Simpson's work has been displayed in many other venues including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Miami Museum of Art.