BRIEF BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION

In 1979 Laura Pettibone had her first exhibition in New York City  entitled "The Mannequins' Masquerade" at the Foto Gallery in Soho.  This marked the beginning of her passion to create dramatic tableaux from her imagination and to eliminate the need for human actors on a stage. Instead she chose to cast mannequins wearing masks and costumes to express her theatrical visions and has continued this form of expression throughout her career in fine arts photography.

Over the past 45 years she has explored many photographic processes.  In addition to shooting B&W negative film in various formats, she has experimented with Polaroid manipulations, emulsion transfers, drawing on substrates and creating images with overlaid transparencies.  She also created 6 animated Super 8 films which she wrote, directed, filmed and edited.

During the past few years she has been working in mixed media by applying soft and oil pastels, paint, pencils, charcoal and plaster to the images.  With her never ending cast of imaginary characters she continues to create with uninterrupted enthusiasm and passion.   

Pettibone's photographs have been exhibited in New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, Japan, Nantucket Island, and Vieques Island, PR. and have been published and featured in various magazines including  ZOOM, London Magazine,  NYB (New York/Berlin), American Photographer, and Camera 35.  They are in the permanent collections of The Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the Center for Photography at Woodstock: The Samuel Dorsky Museum as well as in several private collections including "Collection Dancing Bear"  W.M. Hunt, NYC.