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Leah Oates: When did you know you were an artist? Stephanie Brody-Lederman: I knew that I was an artist when I was very young. At about five years of age, my mother and I would visit my grandparents and, while they talked in the living room, I would be given a piece of paper with a pencil that had been sharpened in the kitchen sink with a bread knife. Even at that young age, I was aware that making art made my breathing slow down and made me feel happy. |
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Inspiration From Many Sources – Leah Oates
Leah Oates: When did you know you were an artist?
Stephanie Brody-Lederman: I knew that I was an artist when I was very young. At about five years of age, my mother and I would visit my grandparents and, while they talked in the living room, I would be given a piece of paper with a pencil that had been sharpened in the kitchen sink with a bread knife. Even at that young age, I was aware that making art made my breathing slow down and made me feel happy.
LO: How do you conceptualize your images? They are very layered and it seems that you work on your paintings in stages. Is that so?
SBL: I start a painting in many different ways: sometimes a painting’s inspiration comes from seeing a color or combination of colors in my everyday life and deciding that I want to use them in my art; sometimes it is an image that moves me. As for your question as to whether I paint in stages, I can finish a painting quickly, over a period of a day and, conversely, I can work on a painting over a long period—layer upon layer—until the original kernel of the painting has quite disappeared.
LO: You are a native New Yorker and have seen the art scene in New York City change for the better and the worse I assume. Please elaborate.
SBL: I try not to keep abreast of the politics of the art world; it would distract me from making art. I want to make the best, most sincere, honest work that I can make. In the past I have been lucky and have usually found a place to show it. The work has also gained notice from people that I greatly respect; that is enough for me.
LO: What is your family background? Were there any artists in your family?
SBL: I was an only child growing up in a very eccentric family, but I’ve heard that everyone thinks that his or her family is eccentric. My father was a larger than life, very overweight bon vivant. He was in the real estate business in New York City and would take me all over the city to look at properties. We would combine eating in various neighborhoods—Chinatown, Little Italy, Harlem, Arthur Avenue, etc.—with "looking at property." We would wander in and out of food shops, churches, synagogues and various business establishments on our trips. I realize now that, in reality, I was taking field trips that explored urban sociology and diverse cultural practices within New York City. Museums were a part of the mix, neither higher nor lower than visits to a special fruit store or a food shop in Chinatown where we bought honey-slathered chicken hanging from a hook in the window. That was my introduction to art making—seeing how wondrous and colorful the world was.
Later, my father started to make art. He took a course in painting at the New School and started to hang out with his instructors at The Cedar Bar. One day he told me that he met a fabulous Dutchman; his name was Willem de Kooning. My father subsequently opened an art gallery in the then wilderness of the Washington Market area, what is now Tribeca. He showed all his artist friends’ works there. He was interviewed about his gallery outpost on “The Voice of America,” a U.S. government radio program with a worldwide audience.
My mother loved words and devoured novels and biographies about the Lost Generation in Paris. She enjoyed playing with words to create the well-edited descriptions of her own life that suited her fancy. As an example, my father was not “fat,” he was “stout,” while I was “slender,” not “skinny.” I came to realize early on that words had the capacity to be as powerfully graphic as art making did.
LO: You draw from many sources for your paintings and text is incorporated as well. What comes first in the creation of any image—a phrase and then an image? Where does the text come from? It is a very strong part of your work and I think it leaves the images more open. What are your thoughts on this?
SBL: I gather inspiration from many sources: personal photos, textiles, wallpaper, food and product packaging, poetry, overheard dialogue and visual memory. What I am trying to do by combining seemingly disparate words and images is to make paintings that pay homage to the associative way the head and the heart ponder meaningful experiences. I cannot say which comes first when I create a painting, text or image. It is a dance and I never know which is going to lead.
LO: What makes painting a unique art medium from other such as photography or sculpture?
SBL: I don’t know. Everything has aspects of being unique, and in my bookwork I combine the three-dimensionality of sculpture with painting.
LO: You live in New York City and Paris. How do both arts communities differ or are they similar?
SBL: French people are in Paris, and Americans are in New York. I don’t mean to be glib, but people are people. On the whole artists are wonderfully special people, with many similarities in every culture around the world.
LO: Has Paris or France influenced your life?
SBL: Yes, living in Paris is very sensual and much of the visual information there has an unknown quality to it for me. Thus, I see almost everything as new, fresh and visually exciting. I find that I slow down in Paris, drink more wine and immerse myself in ordinary life. I have an existential faith that the totality of a life lived is the bedrock of true art making. Anyway, it certainly is a lot of fun.
LO: What advice would you give to an emerging artist in New York City who wants to show and be part of the scene?
SBL: I’m probably not the right person to answer this question. I have good artist-, dealer- and writer-friends, but I do not feel that I have ever been a part of any scene. I just quietly make my work.
I would advise an emerging artist to create the best, most sincere work he or she can and never sacrifice the work for anything political. I would also advise against showing work that is not ready to be seen. Above all, I would always try to be honorable in all my relationships, both art related and otherwise. That’s it.
LO: What upcoming series, projects and shows do you have coming up?
SBL: This winter I had a one person show, "Out Gallivanting," with OK Harris Gallery who shows my work in New York City. Now, I am allowing my new work to build organically, understanding that a major show always allows for a punctuation mark in terms of future work. I will be showing work this spring at a show curated by Arlene Bujese at Spanierman Gallery in East Hampton. I will also be showing unique bookwork at Brooklyn College and will be exhibiting work at the Centre Librairie d’art Contemporain outside of Paris this summer, but right now I am enjoying making art with no immediate pressures. It is a delicious act of blind faith with no script or formula. I truly feel that I’m just a flaneuse out for a walk
