Mom wearing lipstick in bed, from the "Natural Deceptions" series

Maker Krick, Natalie American, b. 1986

Date2011

MediumDigital chromogenic development print

Dimensionsimage: 29 ? in x 23 ? in; frame: 30 ¼ in x 24 ¼ in

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number2017:313

About the ArtistNatalie Krick’s photographs explore sexuality, aging, womanhood, and societal standards of beauty. In the series Natural Deceptions (2011–16), Krick uses her mother, grandparents, sister, and herself as models, mirroring poses and facial expressions that are seen in fashion magazines and advertisements. Yet her images appear far from commercial. At times her models’ bodies overlap with one another, and they sometimes contort in unexpected ways, making it difficult to determine where one body ends and another begins. The most common subject in the series, Krick’s mother, often appears in sensual poses, with her imperfections in plain sight—freckles, wrinkles, and varicose veins reminding us of the body’s ever-ticking clock and the inevitability of aging.

Krick completed her BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York (2008) and her MFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago (2012). Her work has been included in exhibitions at the Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle (2019, 2017), the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver (2015), and Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography (2013), among many others. She was awarded the Aperture Portfolio Prize in 2017.