Episode 427 – Kate Lacour

Virtual Memories Show 427:
Kate Lacour

“The part of taxidermy that’s meaningful to me is my personal interest in interacting with physical bodies. There’s a lot of emotional weight and personal tickle involved.”

It’s been a year since I started the COVID Check-In series of podcasts, so I decided to return to the very first guest in that series, artist Kate Lacour, to celebrate! (You know what I mean.) We talk about how her life has changed over the course of a year in Pandemia, and how the urge to document those first few months gave way to other outlets. In her case, Kate rediscovered herself through taxidermy. We get into how she taught herself the rudiments of that art through YouTube and online groups, her philosophy of animals and bodies, the question of realism vs. subjectivity, and why New Orleans is an awfully good place to make a living as a taxidermist. We go deeper into what comics mean to her and how she may return to them, the post-pandemic trip she wants to take, what progress looks like in the sequence of animals she’s preserved, and more. Give it a listen! And go read Kate’s Vivisectionary!

(And listen to my first podcast with Kate and our COVID Check-In!)

“With the kids, I was in constant motion, so I was blessed to never have time to process those first few months.”

“I love being able to work from home, with my hands, in my own space/abattoir, which looks a bit like Texas Chainsaw, but it’s lovely and it’s my space. It’s been deeply life-changing.”

“I’m afraid of articulating visually something that’s important, but doing it poorly because I just wanted to get it out there, just wanted that gratification.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Kate Lacour studied biology and psychology at the University of Chicago and Oberlin, and Art Therapy at the School of Visual Arts. She learned to draw through the Art Students’ League in New York City. Her art and comics are inspired by a love for the aesthetics of science and a fascination/revulsion towards bodies. Her book Vivisectionary was published by Fantagraphics in 2019. She is the winner of the 2016 Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art award, and has given art talks at the Society of Illustrators, American Art Therapy Conference, New Orleans Public Library, Antenna Gallery, Signals, and the Pharmacy Museum. Kate lives in New Orleans with her husband and three children.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded remotely via Zencastr. I used a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Cloudlifter CL-1 and a Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2×2 USB Recording Interface. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos by Kate. It’s on my instagram.

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