ERIC LEBOFSKY

Eric Lebofsky is an artist living and working in Chicago,IL. He recently showed his work at Western Exhibitions from Oct. 16 to Nov. 14, 2009. He is also part of a 2 person band named Avagami who recently played at my project space MORTVILLE(2106 S. Kedzie flr. 3) you can see video of part of this performance below.

What's your work about right now?
Psychology: Awkwardness, paranoia, transcendence, a sprinkling of masochism.
Formalism: The variation and evolution of patterns and leitmotifs. (DNA making protein.) Together: Psychological evanescence on a rippling, breathing surface of patterns and leitmotifs (Solaris.)

Who are your influences?
Here is a list du jour. Since I understand this to be an interdisciplinary publication with a liberal arts bent, I tried to be as wide-ranging as possible:
Louise Bourgeois, Jorge Luis Borges, John Cage, Arthur C. Clarke, Eric Dolphy, Witold Gombrowicz, Dave Hickey, Glenda Jackson, Stanley Kubrick, Fela Kuti, Stanislaw Lem, Harry Mathews, (Mahavishnu) John Mclaughlin, Joni Mitchell, Michel de Montaigne, Desmond Morris, Haruki Murakami, Robert Musil, Harry Partch, Cole Porter, Ed Ruscha, Ridley Scott, Marnie Stern, Igor Stravinsky, Paul, Verhoeven, John Wesley, Bill Withers, Yoda.

Where do you go to come up with imagery?
I go to the page itself. I begin by visualizing a fragment of a character into (or out of) the white of the paper. Once a structure takes hold, the gaps are filled in with descriptive analytical details, in a way not unlike writing.

and maybe tell a story if you want...whatever.
I've been taking guitar lessons, and it's made me think a lot about practicing and having a practice in general. I haven't made many drawings in the last few years, working on sculpture, painting, and music composition/production/performance instead. I've come to see that practicing a musical instrument and drawing are similarly aligned, in that they're both faculties-sharpening type pursuits. When I realized I could apply the daily rhythm of guitar practice to drawing, or rather, that the daily rhythym of guitar practice was that same daily rhythym of drawing which I used to enjoy, I got excited. Since I have a full-time job, I need the discipline of a structure, an obligatory mechanism by which I can make things. The only problem now is trying to practice the guitar when I'm making so many drawings.

and add any info you think you'd want someone to know about you/your art.
I'll have a show up at Western Exhibitions (119 N. Peoria St., Chicago, IL,) from October 16 - November 13 called "Superfreaks." Work will be culled from my blog, superfreaks.tumblr.com. For the full spectrum of my pursuits, please check out my band at avagami.com and my website at ericlebofsky.com.
interview by Sara Heymann, sara@thechicagogrid.com