Assemblage as Luminous High Art: Featuring Nancy Staub Laughlin
- Apr 15
- 5 min read
The photographic assemblages (or photo collages) of Nancy Staub Laughlin are based on concepts of luminosity and intrinsic value. Through specific ‘sparkled’ motifs such as jewelry, gems, diamonds, crystals, pearls, florals, magnolia trees, snowy wintery landscapes, and oceanscapes, she creates her own sense of mythology on visuals meant to be treasured and cherished. Nancy Staub Laughlin has exhibited in Chelsea multiple times and has been critically reviewed and published extensively, including by the late Sam Hunter of Princeton University and Ingrid Fox, retired curator of Pfizer Inc.
Sam Hunter describes the photographic assemblages of Nancy Staub Laughlin as “points of reference [which] allow her to layer images, add more elements, shade or amplify certain effects [appealing] to her as the work progresses”. And Ingrid Fox notes the photographic work as she describes “The [pastel] drawing relies on the photograph for…information, but the photograph does not need the drawing and stands [on individual] merit. This extraordinary archive…[is] complex and visually unique”. We can add to these descriptions by noting how the integrative and interdisciplinary applications of combing original photography, staged still lifes and props for theatrical settings, and elements of collage into holistic compositions, which convey a conceptual communication on contemporary intrinsic value and materialism. Commodities such as precious stones and metals are used to accentuate a deep aesthetical gloss and sheen which the artist compliments with elements of nature, captured and presented in a manner of fantastical connotations. In essence, these assemblages can be described as still lifes with a sense of purpose and careful aesthetical composure to convey theatrical elements of a balanced composition.
In this magical, sparkled realm Nancy Staub Laughlin has constructed and concocted with her alchemical composure of strategic cropping and light-based juxtaposition, the viewer can lose themselves in the sheer beauty and escapism of these enchanted compositions. The aesthetical application of precious materials such as gems, pearls, crystals, white gold, and florals along with sparkled landscapes accentuated by the droplet mists of water from crashing ocean waves and falling snow reveals a sense of celestial mysticism and magical iconography. Like the lucid, fantastical novels of Jules Verne, she portrays a realm of escapism of sheer awe and wonder. What filmmaker David Lean did for cinema by glorifying the desolate deserts of Arabia with stunning cinematography, excellent acting, and monumental musical scores, Nancy Staub Laughlin has achieved such notoriety for idealizing precious commodities through new and exciting conceptual methods of visual impulse and composure.
Photographic Assemblage V. 106 (pictured above) can be described as one of Nancy Staub Laughlin’s most subtle yet accented pieces. The photography depicts a vast ocean wave of turquoise which swallows the entire composition. Far off to the left, we will find a string of pearls and what appears to be a glittered band-like structure on a sparkled surface. This work is visually stunning yet neutralized amidst a consistent pattern of soft pastel tones which seem misty and even washed. Photographic Assemblage V. 106 exemplifies Nancy Staub Laghlin’s approach of creating artworks which are experiences in themselves rather a recreation of instances. She uses the assemblage artform to integrate lucid, charmed experiences of hypnotizing light particles emanating off precious commodities, inducing a state of suspended animation.
With these blooming compositions which blast sparkles and light particles, we are taken on an enchanted journey through the whimsical imagination of Nancy Staub Laughlin. Integrative performative crystalized still lifes, carefully chosen landscapes and seascapes as well as minimalist florals become combined into enchanted realms. Make no mistake, these works are meant to be a form of grand escapism using strategic motifs and a push to advance contemporary aesthetics and appeal.
Unlike pop art, the photographic assemblage of Nancy Staub Laughlin do not simplify the composition or rely on minimalist design principles or elements to communicate materialistic wonder. Instead, she creates symphonic planes which enhance the conceptual notion of materialism. Her precious gems, stones, and crystals become mythological conduits which refract light towards mystical scenes bathed in florals and aquatic particles. The mist in the air within the works, either from sparkled luminosity or a sfumato of water droplets, creates an atmospheric harmony which very much shapes and enhances contemporary aesthetics.
With mindful discourse, we can explore these constructed realms by Nancy Staub Laughlin which gives deeper purpose and meaning to the art of photography. In essence, she is infusing integrative practices in what would otherwise be straight depictions of subject matter. This matter of process and ingenuity develops compositions of enhanced interdisciplinary applications based in combining photography and collage. The consistent manner of her unified surface, despite differential subjects, creates a combinative construction of conceptual structure emanating philosophical pleasure with refined materials. This visual narrative of an enchanted realm based in precious commodities reveals a grand experience based on escapist fantasies revealed through lucid light-based illusory experiences in the compositions.
Photography has a more impactful purpose thanks to Nancy Staub Laughlin. These evocative realms constructed from luminous materialistic particles fused together to create sparkled compositions are bathed in smooth pastels and soft monochromatic breaks of surface. As we explore this enchanted experience, the viewer will learn to notice the subtleties contained within the art of light and the precious objects which emanate and reflect such particles. The profound refinement and class within these photographic assemblages convey both prestige and innovation through combinative experiences and applications.
Seascapes, florals, and wintery landscapes are nothing new, but when combined and composed in a manner to accentuate light and displayed in a manner to reveal a grand sparkled dimension, the artist applies immense complexity to what would otherwise be simplistic subject matter. These compositions are in essence about the manipulation and composure of light as well as accentuating sensory experiences from objects and spaces we may normally take for granted. The consistent use of jeweled, gemmed, and crystalized commodities in the works superimposed on sparkled surfaces and scapes of mist creates a pleasant atmospheric equilibrium and a grand sense of perfect balance. As a result, Nancy Staub Laughlin elevates the art of assemblage and collage into forms of high art which can convey deep conceptual notions which are relevant to how we experience the world. But also, these photographic assemblages are a universe within themselves, like a child first discovering a snow-globe. The wonder of discovery and enjoying the pleasure of surfaces are the very foundations of Nancy Staub Laughlin’s interdisciplinary splendorous combinative forms. Bask in the sparkle, the luminosity, the refraction and reflection of light, and imbue the atmospheric particles which embody the refinement of these outstanding works. These photographic assemblage are best enjoyed with a glass of wine and an open, free mind to take in the atmospheric harmony, great planes of balance and sophistication.
