LeCocq was born in 1949 in
Santa Rosa, California. She attended
Fresno State College and was a student of
Judy Chicago, visiting artist. In 1970, Chicago, along with 15 female students (LeCocq included) started the first
feminist art program in the United States. LeCocq received a BA degree from Fresno State College in 1971. She attended California Institute of the Arts (
CalArts) in Valencia, CA in 1972 where she participated in the
Feminist Art Program developed by Judy Chicago and
Miriam Schapiro. The first class project of this program was a group project called
Womanhouse, an installation and performance piece. LeCocq and
Nancy Youdelman created a room in Womanhouse they called “Leah’s Room” from
Colette’s
Chéri. They borrowed an antique dressing table and rug, made lace curtains and covered the bed with satin and lace to create the effect of a boudoir. They filled the closet with old-looking clothes and veiled hats, and wallpapered the walls to add a feeling of nostalgia. LeCocq sat at the dressing table dressed in a nineteenth-century-style costume as Léa, studiously applying make-up over and over and then removing it, replicating the character’s attempts to save her fading beauty. LeCocq returned to Fresno State College where she received an MA degree in 1976. LeCocq is a sculptor and a lecturer at the
University of California, Merced in Merced, California. ==References==