Leslie
What is your favorite art medium to work in, and why?
I primarily work within the field of performance. For me, performance invites investigation about being in the world. Through my work, I use the medium of the body supported by time and space, and in conversation with mediums of sculpture/set design, light, and gesture, among others. I love performance because it is a conversation of experience, asking questions about our being in the world, and I feel my being in most vivid when I am dancing. We have the capacity to question how we conceive of "world" that may potentially invite wild ideas of otherness and expressions of hope.
When did you first figure out that art was important to you?
When I was a child, my mom always let me and my brother have plenty of time to play with boxes. I think I first entered the realm of art-making in these temporary box structures.
Who is your art mentor?
I value the work of butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno and performance artist Ana Mendieta, but I have many influences. I also value the work of feminist theorist Donna Haraway. My friends and associates continually inspire me.
Finish this sentence: My art is my...
laboratory.
What advice would you offer someone just beginning their exploration of their own artistic self?
Ask questions. Value work/practice as important unto itself. Be curious. Realize that your work is interconnected with the causes and concerns of others.
Do you have a website or blog you would like us to link to?