Rakesh Ray Choudhury – Circle Foundation for the Arts

What themes does your work involve?

Dominant theme of my works is a human story of transformation, of our connection to the earth, and psychological aspects that move matter. I will define my expressions as mystic and figurative. Currently I am composing on the theme of birth that celebrate the female spirit of the Earth and of humans.

Describe your creative process.

For me, creation is a choice. If we look at life and its expressions, we see it is happening even without us being conscious of it. Therefore it is my role to direct the process into a higher plain. Once, a story impress on my thoughts, implementation begins. Even though I adopt ideas on the process, priorities lie in remaining faithful to the original vision. I majorly work with oil paint, as it gives me scope to arrive at almost all versatile results. In true sense no finished work is absolute, because it started with a subjective context to its surrounding environment; it's only on the basis of how much it is successful to convey the intention I started with, I know that the work is complete. And the Movement of the onlooker usually lies within the context of the composition.

What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?

I make Art because, I believe in the ability of aesthetics and story telling to take us to a state of blissful awareness. Throughout last five years, I have become more and more curious about the mechanics of life. I am intrigued by the process of birth, not only of living beings, but also the causes that lead to emergence of physical objects and situations. Few of the noble soul that have left a major mark on my subconscious are, painters, Peter Paul Rubens, Hieronymus Bosch, René Magritte; writers and thinkers, Neville Goddard, Alan Watts, Osho, Teachings of the Tao. Film maker Hayao Miyazaki’s narratives. And last but not least, choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch, the Goddess of storytelling.

What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?

Art is subjective, as all human conditions are. Even so, a good art is one that uplifts a human mind to a greater consciousness. Technically speaking, a great art is that which remains relevant in many phases of history. It is in the shared spaces of our collective awareness that all meaning resides. Yes there are also art, subject matter of which is not wide spread among a large spectator, even then it could be great if it has some emotional charge of push and pull in it.

What is the role of the artist today?

I chose the process of image making as my way of expression because, I look forward to take the viewer into a magical journey of visuals. I see my creation as an action of story telling and not as a reaction to an event. (Although in a subtle way my action is an indirect way of reaction, but it comes from a state, not from opposing something, but by being in an ideal state of being.) I think in terms of energy. Everything has an opposite. Todays values build up slightly relative and polar to yesterday’s values. What artist should practice is, looking at the world from beyond their context, to arrive at a fresh perspective. Most importantly they should practice a state of silence (in their inner conversations) even for few minutes in their everyday life.