About the Artist
Katie Loebach (b. Gaithersburg MD) is currently a double major in Art and Art History at St Mary’s College of Maryland. She draws from her knowledge of art history to create art around women’s sexuality. Her inspirations date back to the pre-historic time, as she uses the Venus of Willendorf as one of the key works of art that inspires her rounded form. She thinks about ways in which women were portrayed as sexual objects, and creates art that begs the question- can women be sexual while having their own autonomy? Katie herself is a burlesque dancer and sees the art from as a sexuality in which one performs. She creates the connection between performance, and the very act of being a sexual being in her own art.
Artist's Statement
The gleaming glitz and glamour of burlesque ensure one thing- that all eyes are on the performer. The performer exists as sexual being but remains confident and autonomous. Drawing from my experience as a burlesque dancer, I explore performative sexuality within homoerotic fantasy. My graphic figures show sexuality as a construct, but one that is empowering and creates a self-identity. Against sensual reds and mysterious purples, my erotically posed women capture the viewer through their confidently nonchalant expression. Their sexual autonomy allows them to create a self-identity, one that is not defined by their relationship to others, but through the expression of their bodies. Using paint and markers, I define their bodies through rounded form and deep colors. As a queer artist, I aim to create a work that allows queer women to express their sexuality and desire. My use of yonic symbolism cheekily pokes at a long tradition of phallic representation within art, but also works as a identification to other queer women, as we are often erased from the art world.
