Artospective: Drawings by Liza Elizabeth LaBarge from New York.

Adam & Eve Evolution Charcoal and Soft Pastel on Paper 60x60in 2012.

An Interview with Liza Elizabeth LaBarge.

Who and where are you from?

I was born in Potsdam NY in 1990 and have remained an upstate NY resident since. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Pre-Creative Arts Therapy from SUNY Potsdam in 2012 and completed an MFA in Visual Studies from the University at Buffalo in 2014. I am currently teaching as an Adjunct Instructor at St. Lawrence University and SUNY Potsdam as I continue my professional career as an emerging artist.

How you got into this?

My mother works in the Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam, which allowed for me to be exposed to art exhibitions and art practices from an early age. Art was a norm for me (SUNY Potsdam is known for being an Arts campus) and I think I took the opportunity to be surrounded by artistic individuals for granted until I realized I myself wanted a career that allowed for creative exploration. The professors in undergrad allowed for ample material exploration opportunities, yet encouraged an educational environment tailored to mastering your chosen material. I was drawn to charcoal as a Fine art form. I became amazed at how the materials worked together to form a recognizable image. I began to view charcoal and the drawing process itself as less of a material solely for sketching. I related the drawing process to sculpture and “building” the formed/figures. I wanted to push the drawing process into a fine art form in itself.

What is your driving force?

My driving force is my urge to make things. I have a passion for a do it yourself life style. I want to know how things work and I want to be able to create the image I have in my head. Once I thought my work was technically sound, I began to be driven more by the message of the work. I wanted to bring images to life that made the viewer think about historical and/or contemporary human conditions.

What kind of work you do and why?

I explore contemporary topics related to womanhood through the process of reductive drawing techniques and additive soft pastel applications. The work is greatly influenced by psychoanalysis and the study of film theory. I strive to create intense theatrical depictions that attract the human eye, while simultaneously incorporating delightfully disturbing undertones. The work offers a glimpse into ambiguous narratives of femininity. I intend for the image to conjure thought/emotion while leaving ambiguity for further contemplation from the viewer. The audience is left to ponder the context in which the characters exist.

My most recent series is constructed as a therapeutic art form. Through the drawing process, I visually explore crocheted lace as a means of stitching together feminine themes. The detailed weaving and threading acts as a visual representation for the idea that we as humans are all shaped by various environmental influences, traditions, and past histories linking together to form one life. Therefore, the work becomes a representation of the life cycle. Images referencing life and death are acknowledged within a single framework; the image of mummification (death) is present while simultaneously referencing the image of the sonogram (birth).