On our fragile little blog, Slog, it's a bit difficult to appreciate the scope of the Brooklyn-based artist Louise Lawler's work. I feel even uploading this picture into the article cheats you of the experience, though I haven't had the opportunity to view any of Lawler's works in person. I urge you to look at "Soup and Mirror (adjusted to fit, distorted for the times, one)" as best you can on Metro Pictures' Viewing Room, where some of Distorted for the Times photos are currently hanging.

In 2011, Lawler began her "adjusted to fit" series, taking rather mundane photos of the inside of auction houses, museums, collectors' homes, and adjusting their dimensions to fit the context—be it an entire wall or a print's placement on the wall. In Metro Pictures' virtual gallery, the adjusted images fit the constraint of the webpage (hence their weirdness on Slog).

The year after Donald Trump won the presidential election, Lawler began digitally distorting these "adjusted to fit" photos, reflecting his post-truth presidency. You can see that through the addendums added to the title of the image above—(adjusted to fit, distorted for the times). Not only can the truth stretch to fit the constraints of its context, but it can warp in such a way as to be unrecognizable. From the viewpoint of 2020, the ideas in these photos seem almost quaint. We know now these warped truths aren't things you can quickly click away from, but rather a lived reality with real consequences.

Check out more of Louise Lawler's work at Metro Pictures.