Interview with Leylagoor

Q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

A)Leylagoor- my name is a mix of my hybridation; half iranian, half french/belgish. I'm born between the lake and the mountains, in Geneva in 1976 where I let grow my irresistible attraction for primary material like paper and pencil, supporting by a family of artists and great art lovers. But at the age of 20, I was turning around like a lion in a too small cage, so I left for France where I did the Artdecorative school of Strasbourg in illustration..I experienced most of exciting things out of school; puppets theater, installations, exhibitions, edition, art competition, art residency...

Q)How did you get started making art?

A) Naturally, as I first open an eye on my hand, and have enough force to take a pen.

Q)How would you describe your art?

A)The Artwork build the world and that world is made of migrations, movements, transformations. In that proliferation of forms the eye must capture the detail which is the mark of the prodigious invention of life.

Q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

A)Some images or sounds meet in dreams or between two white pages. I let it flow as I can, my hand follows. The fate makes well things, conduct me through its marvellous path...

Q)What are you working on now?

A)Apparition-Disparition of portraits on white textile..and drawings for a first solo exhibition in 2007 in Paris normally..

Q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

A)The great guide art constellations www.lewub.com and others sites on my links page http://www.leylagoor.com/-liens

Q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

A)The pencil, for it spontaneous reaction on surface and a rollerball for the soft slide sensation and sharpness

Q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

A)Just trust your instinct, it will never deceive you

Q)What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

A)Art is my food, everything in between participate to intensify the taste

Q)Take us inside your process a little bit. How do you begin a piece? What inspires the concept?

A) I have no « protocole ». A medium as a dream surface has its own attraction power. A trace on a paper can countain an image. That's my current way to begin...Human Faces are a source of inspiration; place of the bottomless mystery of the Human being..

Q)What are your artistic influences?

A)The flemish primitive paintings and the Italian ones, the surrealism, the figurative painting in general, and many underground artist of our time

Q)How are the reactions on your work in general?

A) In general, people do a zoom movement with there bodies or eyes when they face my drawing. They seem to be trying to penetrate that particular detail in the croudy images, that sometimes makes them smile.That point that is strange and always remember themselves trhough faces..They choose to take time to enter the details, or just embrace quickly the surface, as they want, but most of the time they are curious..

Q)What are you doing when you are not creating art?

A)Playing music, dancing, and living as I can..

Q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?

A)Continuing to follow they own way in spite of the difficulty of being an artist in that crazy capitalist society. Try to conjugate life anf artist life. Be supporting from galleries more than one commercial time, and keep the integrity till the end.

Q)What is freedom to you as an artist?

A)Freedom is fragile and must be preserve, so try to keep integrity and if you have concessions to do, not sacrifice the part of art, the best that you can do.To act according to its instinct.

Q)Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

A)My first oil painting portrait of a friend

Q)Last Books you read?

A)« Ratures » from Stephane Blanquet www.blanquet.com a little treasure!« Eloge du visible » by Jean Clair,« Oviri, écrits d'un sauvage » by Paul Gauguin and many books that wait half opened on my night table..

Q)Last records you bought?

A)last year, « cLouddead » from Dose one

Q)Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

A)Titien, Hans Memling, Rembrandt, Mi Youren, Le Caravage, Jacques Callot, De Chiricco, Francis Bacon, Roland Topor, Chris Hipkiss, Lukas Liederer, Stéphane Blanquet, Rineke Dijkstra, Bill Viola, Javier Perez, the list is too long to continue..

Q)Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

A) The power of evocation of a subject and the harmony of the composition. The particular and original point of view that surprises you, the impact left on the retina, the breath of life that stimulate certain artworks, the manner they are inserted in the space, the part given to dreams.. The artists who dare completely, who take the life entirely.. where beauty inspires..

Q)Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you miss your work when it is sold?

A)Sometimes I get attached to some paintings, because they ask for a particular attention, and take time to finish, but I am not often confronted to that because I'm not still in a rythm of sale for to speak about it. But I'll see..

Q)Your contacts….E-mail…links

A)my website is www.leylagoor.com, where you can see the drawings. You can find my contact in it.