sharon arnold | dimensions variable: Interview, Rich Lehl

Rich Lehl is a local artist whose work gathers together whimsy, wistful, humorous, and dreamlike all at once. You could call it Pop-Surrealism, but I'd disagree with you. There's something a little more philosophically sinister under all that fantasy -- it's not about weird big heads and crazy scenes. Like a Hitchcock film, Lehl's work is quietly stating that Something is Going On, and it's up to you to find your place in it.

This was a really great conversation. Enjoy.

Whether or not it's conscious, people seem to expect a certain thing when they think of "erotic art". What was the greatest challenge or stereotype for you to overcome in making an erotic piece in your own voice?

I didn't want the painting to be cliché and make something that was trying too hard to be erotic. As I do with a lot of my work, I incorporated a sense of humor into it.

How did you arrive at the work you'll be showing in the Festival? Where is it you're taking us/what story are you telling (the viewer)?

I wanted the image to take place in a setting I'm familiar with—the American suburban backyard. From there, I added another familiar element. A man watering his yard and plants, but with a twist. I think the image talks about a distinctly male experience of primal self-gratification within the day-to-day routines of suburban life.

Rich, I'm thrilled to see you approached eroticism from the perspective of male experience. Is it suggested self gratification is an ambivalent act? Is this idea of a daily performance tapping into a deeper commentary about what is defined as a male role?

I don't think I'm saying that male self-gratification is an ambivalent act. In fact, it's quite the opposite in this painting. I think what I was trying to get at was that for a man it can be a spontaneous, uninhibited, and primal experience even in a somewhat controlled environment like a suburban backyard. I guess that's where the irony lies in this painting.

In much of your work, you seem to have fun juxtaposing the mundane with the fantastic; the bucolic with urban grit. How does that play into the eroticism of your piece?

I think for this piece those themes enter the work by way of the subject and the context in which this moment of self-gratification is taking place—a man watering the lawn in his quiet, suburban American backyard.

What do you think it is that's so fascinating about fantasy or the idyllic butting up against the every day? Is it the American Dream rubbing elbows with Reality?

I've always enjoyed tweaking what appears to be real and turning it upside down a bit to allow us to ask ourselves where we fit into reality or normal day-to-day life. I think that's what I find so fascinating about it. Within some of my work I think it is the American Dream having a dialogue with reality, but I think it's more broad than that. It's more exposing and exaggerating the surreal or the unexplained that already exists in reality.

Is the American Dream inherently masculine or is the masculinity of it what's interesting to you personally?

I think the American Dream is inherently masculine. I think the quest to find the ideal lifestyle goes back to the beginning of civilization. The man, as the hunter and gatherer, has always been searching for and seduced by this quest to find a better way of life. I think what I find interesting about it, is that this dream is really just a dream and provides a fascinating context to question and see where man really fits into it.

What do you most look forward to in this year's Seattle Erotic Art Festival?

Seeing some great original art that I've never seen before.

Give us one thing you think is unexpectedly sexy:

A freshly mowed lawn.

Thanks Rich!

You can visit SeattleErotic.Org to read up on the artists, Festival calendar, and performances.