Kate Lacour
Kate Lacour
Education
Lacour attended Oberlin College in Ohio, from 2001-2004 and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. In 2004 Kate took courses at School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, later earning her Master's degree in Clinical Art Therapy. In 2011 she became board-certified and began her work as a freelancing art therapist, in various locations such as homes, studios and schools.[18]
Vivisectionary
On August 20, 2019 Kate Lacour releasedVivisectionary, a hardcover collection of bizarre biological diagram paintings. The graphic novel was printed by Fantagraphics Books. The title is a portmanteau of vivisection and bestiary. Kate Lacour does most of her work is in ink, watercolor, colored inks and watercolor dyes. She then scans the paintings and slightly touches them up on Photoshop.
Describing the inspiration and making of the collection Lacour stated,[22]
"I didn’t plan an overarching direction, I just let whatever came to mind that month occupy the page.
It’s funny, though, these pieces started off having to do with topics like food and animals, with a mostly humorous bent.
And over time, they took a turn.
The content got darker, with more things related to sexuality, bodies, and horror surfacing, along with themes from my personal life.
I found myself drawing a lot of dismemberment, images of transformation, religious imagery.
The things I’ve inadvertently come back to over and over since adolescence.
I love that, actually.
As an artist, you can choose a place “out there” in the sky to train your telescope, but ultimately you’re always just looking at some part of yourself.
...I originally thought of designing it after a child’s science textbook – I love and collect them – but the incredibly talented designer at Fantagraphics that I got to work with (Jacob Covey) suggested modeling it loosely on a vintage encyclopedia.
It was a great idea.
About 100 years ago, encyclopedias were sold door-to-door, often to lower and middle-class families as this way for their kids to grow up with access to knowledge, maybe grow up to become doctors or teachers or engineers.
And the tone of those old books was always very grand and formal, the illustrations very superlative, the binding was serious and almost regal.
Like you were taking up the mantle of greatness by engaging with it.
So that kind of rich design and fancy binding became the template for the book as an object.
And, of course, the cut-away cover also reflects the surgical themes."
Reception
Vivisectionary has had many positive reviews upon its release:[23]
“A delightfully disgusting compendium of the grotesque.
Lacour’s work engenders horror of the deepest sort, and it lingers in the mind for hours.”- Publishers Weekly
“Gorgeous, grotesque, and wonderful.”
-BoingBoing
Bibliography
The following is a list of her comics:
Awards and Recognition
She is also the co-founder of the NOLArts Learning Center located in New Orleans. The center is a place where young people with special needs are provided creative arts projects in a safe environment. Kate offered her services as an art therapist.[38]
Trivia
See Also
Kelly Akashi
Zachary Armstrong