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Tomwsulcer/Sandbox3
BornAugust 1940 (age 83)
NationalityAmerican
Known forCave sculpture

Ra Paulette is an American cave sculptor in New Mexico who digs into hillsides to sculpt elaborate artistic spaces inside mountains.[1] Paulette never studied architecture or sculpting or structural engineering in a formal school but is self-taught.[1] He works with hand tools such as shovels and pick axes and scrapers.[1] He is paid only $12/hour.[1] Reviewer Martha Mendoza in the Los Angeles Times described the caves he created as shrines, as hallowed places, a "sanctuary for prayer and meditation" while others describe the caves as works of art.[2] The caves are finished with "scallops, molded curves, smooth ledges, inlaid stones, narrow pods and crusty ledges."[2] His caves attract visitors worldwide.[2] He grew up in northwest Indiana along the shores of Lake Michigan.[2] Paulette created Windows in the Earth Shrine in northern New Mexico for a resort north of Santa Fe so visitors could climb a third of a mile, enjoy the view, and step inside the sandstone cave space to "meditate, write", enjoy the art, or sometimes have weddings.[3] It took him two and a half years to complete.[3] Paulette's sculpture was the subject of a 2014 documentary entitled Cavedigger.[4] He described his artistic approach:

It has a lot to do with the juxtaposition of opposites: the sense of being under ground with the light streaming in; the intimacy of being in a cave, yet the columns end up very large, sometimes thirty to forty feet high.

— Paulette in an interview, 2014[1]

See also[edit]

  • Cavedigger, a documentary about Paulette's sculpture

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e December 6, 2014, San Francisco Globe, Something Amazing Hides In The Caves In This Hill, Retrieved December 7, 2014, "....Ra never went to school for architecture or sculpting and never studied structural engineering, but when he saw these hills, he found his passion. His passion is cave sculpting. What he creates in the hillsides he calls "the cave effect," which he describes as "It has a lot to do with the juxtaposition of opposites: the sense of being under ground with the light streaming in; the intimacy of being in a cave, yet the columns end up very large, sometimes thirty to forty feet high.".."
  2. ^ a b c d September 01, 1996, MARTHA MENDOZA, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Los Angeles Times, Artist Carves Shrine Into Sandstone Cliff -- Sculpture: The intricate cave of niches, rooms and decorative touches in northern New Mexico invites meditation and admiration, Retrieved December 7, 2014, "...it's a hallowed place, a refuge from the mad world, a sanctuary for prayer and meditation. Others view it as a work of art, an amazing result of one man's creativity and labor...."
  3. ^ a b Julie Hatfield, August 26, 2007, The Boston Globe, A hike in the Southwest to take your breath away, Retrieved December 7, 2014, "...The resort owners commissioned an artist, Ra Paulette, to open the interior of the natural butte...."
  4. ^ VERONICA DAGHER, Feb. 28, 2014, The Wall Street Journal, [1], Retrieved December 7, 2014, "...Mr. Karoff said he wanted to self-fund the documentary about renowned cave sculptor Ra Paulette, Mr. Fishman knew he could easily afford it...."

External links[edit]

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