Lori Leboy
True Blue
By Natalie Geld
WhyAreWeWhispering.com
NG: What a beautiful sculpture Lori, what and who inspired her?
Lori: Thanks Nat. Daphne modeled for me a few years ago. She was a great model…sensuous and expressive. Because I wasn’t able to complete her from our sessions, I relied on memory, imagination and observing my own form.
NG: Her body language seems open, yet emotionally she’s struggling somehow…
NG: Is this stress connected to her sexuality somehow?
Lori: Perhaps. I don’t know that her internal conflict is driven by sexual angst per se. But if we’re talking about the relationship between stress and sex, well, I would refer to stress as the sexual annihilator.
Stress is death to sex. Coping with stress requires shutting down or desensitizing, essentially turning off. Sexual pleasure, turning on, is really about opening up, and trust, allowing yourself to be vulnerable. It’s the antithesis of shutting down.
NG: How do you and your art influence one another?
Lori: I am always discovering things about myself through my art. The process itself is isolating and unpredictable… sometimes joyous, at other times painful. But invariably the journey leads me to unexpected places both emotionally and intellectually. When I finish a piece I study it over and over. I often realize something about myself, through my work, which is surprising. Something intuitive will materialize that I was not otherwise conscious of.
Discussing my process with you now, I’m reminded that we are all alone in some ways, whether we’re truly alone, in a relationship, or surrounded by people, we all deal with a certain amount of isolation in our lives.
I often internalize my thoughts and feelings. I use my art to express myself. But verbal exchange, like the one we are having, is great because I can bounce off of your input and energy which gives me an enhanced understanding of my work, my process, and of myself.
Communication is so important.
NG: This is the beauty of sparking a dialogue! What has the response been to ‘True Blue’ – your bold sculpture of a woman masturbating, pleasuring herself to orgasm, which we can actually listen to?
Lori: Everyone gets so into it – men and women. I love to observe people experiencing it; their eyes get really big and their surprised faces seem to say ‘Oh my God, that’s it!’ Everybody laughs…it is such a private moment that it almost makes you feel like you are spying.
Also, I think everyone secretly wonders what orgasm is like for everybody else. We wonder if our experience is universal. I personally love this piece.
NG: And her title?
NG: Many women don’t touch themselves, don’t explore or look at themselves, don’t have good feelings about their sexuality and don’t experience orgasm.
Lori: It’s too bad too. I’ve found that very few women really feel comfortable talking about it or bringing it up with their partner or even their girlfriends. I feel it's important to know your own body. Women need to take responsibility for their own pleasure. Our sexuality is an essential part of us…
And it’s tricky - sexual pleasure, for women especially, requires a tremendous amount of focus. We are the natural multi-taskers, the natural caregivers; we are the mothers. Women are supposed to take care of everything, be alert and have an awareness of everything going on around us.
It’s important, for the purpose of sexual pleasure and intimacy, to be able to create an environment that is free from distractions like kids, work, household tasks, all the things that we are usually responsible for.
Plus many women quantify their value sexually by the level of pleasure they are able to give to their partner. We forego our own needs because we feel that that creates a burden for our partner when, I think, the opposite is true.
Too often, we are so concerned with what others think about us, what others expect us to be for them, that we lose sight of our own needs. We try to fill some void we imagine exists, or may in fact exist, for somebody else. We deplete our energy this way – always fixating externally.
NG: ‘Going Down’ is a bold, unique piece, what led you to create it?
Lori: It started out as a lark, really; I had a client that asked me to create something for him…anything that I wanted. Glass is such an elegant material; I thought it would be perfect for an erotic work. I also wanted the viewer to be an active participant so I made it a sash window - double hung - which slide over one another.
NG: I understand you’re also a graphic designer …
Lori: Yes, since 1986 I’ve designed various ad campaigns, and graphics from wine labels, like Barefoot Bynum, to packaging for Nintendo. And the heart of the success of this business is aligned communication. Everybody has to get the same message, that’s key.
NG: Communication is central to your business life and your art?
Lori: Yes, there’s a certain amount of intimacy that develops even in a business relationship, and every good relationship is based on communication. Whatever you mean to say, wherever you mean to be coming from, the goal is to come across as you intend.
Successful communication is a big issue for me, in my personal life, professionally and in art.
I taught an art class at Otis School of Art and Design that had to do with ‘self perception.’ The only assignment I gave the students was to create two pieces of artwork, one that reflected how they perceived themselves, and the other reflecting how they thought others perceived them. The differences were startling.
NG: I’ll bet, and fascinating too. The human dilemma is our shared challenge, being constantly in battle internally - chasing our tails - we don’t step forward.
Your animatronics sculpture, ‘Blah Blah Blah’ cracks me up – and immediately resonates. In essence, it depicts a failed conversation, am I correct?
Lori: Yes, ‘Blah Blah Blah’ illustrates how difficult it is for linear and sporadic thinkers to communicate.
Women, being natural multi-taskers, often think sporadically while most men are linear thinkers, which allow them to focus exclusively on one task at a time. Our early history required men and women to be different in this way, as the woman’s role was to take care of home and family and man’s, to hunt. Now our roles are blended but we still process thought differently, which challenges our ability to communicate.
NG: And these two eventually shut down to one another completely. So what’s the message, the through line?
Lori: A major relationship downfall is lack of communication. You can’t have real intimacy with someone if you aren’t communicating. That involves taking risks, being honest. That’s how you develop trust. We are so motivated by fear - that’s just the killer...the killer of any form of productive, fulfilling existence.
Life, art, it’s the same. Fear gets you nowhere and bullshit is boring.
NG: Thank you, Lori, for sharing with us. I hope it was good for you…
Lori: (Laughing) You’re welcome, it’s been my pleasure!
http://www.lorileboy.com/
www.zazzle.com/killergreens
‘Going Down’ Piece
