Do you remember that story about Joshua Bell? In what I initially thought was an urban legend, the genius and internationally renowned violinist took part in a social experiment in which he played for 45 minutes, unannounced, at a metro station in Washington DC. With a violin worth $3.5 million, he performed some of the most unimaginably difficult pieces ever composed to an audience of commuters, the vast majority of whom never paid him the slightest bit of attention.
If you've ever been to Venice Beach, the atmosphere can be similarly overwhelming. Though it's known more for recreation than the rush of commuters, the pandemonium of the boardwalk is equally distracting. Everything and everyone shouts for your attention. Guys with headphones want you to listen to their demo tape. Girls dressed in green hope you will see the doctor on their poster for a medical marijuana card. A man with bare feet beckons you to watch him jump on a pile of broken glass. You have to know where to look if you want to see through the chaos. So let me be your guide.
Once you pass Muscle Beach, the skate park and most of the food stands, you encounter the living, breathing museum of Venice. Wooden skulls, melted bottles, dream catchers, row after row of paintings. Some of it is awesome. Some of it is bullshit. While there is a tremendous amount of talent to be found on the beach, a lot of it gets overshadowed by stores and tables full of factory made "local art." Pipes that say "Venice Beach" that were made in China. Bracelets bought from a wholesaler.
But if you make your way to the corner of Breeze Avenue and Oceanfront, across from the "No Hassle Discount Pipe Shop," you will find yourself looking at the awesome current collection of paintings from international artist, Ra Superstar.
The first time I caught Ra's art out of the corner of my eye, I made a beeline for his table. I couldn't stop staring at what I thought was some of the most uniquely inspiring paintings I had ever seen. It reminded me of the feeling I got the first time I saw a Van Gogh painting, combined with the first time I saw a Lisa Frank sticker. I soon became a collector, which wasn't difficult as his one-of-a-kind prints are criminally inexpensive. Whenever I was in the neighborhood, I made a point to stop by. So when I decided to write about him, I knew where I could find him. On a sunny 75 degree day in January, I sat with him behind his table and watched as he painted, talked to tourists, and chatted with the very nice homeless man who also frequents the corner of Oceanside and Breeze.
Ra is acutely articulate and very polite. He told me about his adventures in Europe. When Ra goes to visit, his art agent converts his garage into a studio. Ra even painted the entire exterior of a VW Beetle. There are pictures of it in a prototype book he keeps on the beach. He is also releasing a children's A-Z book. I asked him if there were any days in particular that he could be found at the beach selling his paintings. He said that when he is not abroad, he can always be found in his spot, "whenever the weather's good." And if you're wondering about his real name, that's top secret. But his mom used to call him RaRa.
They love Ra in Ibiza (where he was this past Fall).
They love Ra in Tokyo (where he will be at the end of March).
They love Ra in Sweden (where he will be in April).
One visit to Rasuperstar.com should have you thinking "How have I never heard of this guy?"
Which brings me back to Joshua Bell.
The point of the metro concert experiment was to see what reactions this would draw from people rushing to work, going about their day, living their lives. What they learned is that for the most part, there was a tragic lack of response.
Here was a prodigy performing a piece of genius music in a place where the viewing and listening conditions were terrible. We would all love to believe that we would be that one person who sees through the chaos and stops. I would love to believe that I would have stopped. If you watch the video of him playing (link at the bottom), we cheer when one man takes a moment to listen. This man was John David Mortensen, a Project Manager at the Department of Energy and according to him, not a classical music aficionado. But "whatever it was [about the music]," he says, "it made me feel at peace."
Do the viewing conditions have to be optimal to truly appreciate art? Or can you appreciate it the same if you are at the Louvre, or getting yelled at to buy a weed card, or rushing up an escalator? If you saw Ra's paintings at the Museum of Modern Art, would you have a different reaction than seeing them on the ground on the Venice Boardwalk?
For all the time we spend taking pictures of things, how much of that time is spent actually looking at them? How often do we do things simply to satisfy the part of our brain that appreciates aesthetics?
Whenever I look at a Ra painting, I feel like I satisfy that need. I was not told to like him. I was not told that he was important. I was not given a list of credentials by which to be impressed. I saw his art, and I knew that it was good. As Mortensen said, it made me feel at peace.
Like most of us, I am guilty of walking past street performers, artists, even paintings in a museum and not even giving them a second thought. But I did not walk by Ra Superstar. In this one case, on that one day, I felt like John David Mortensen.
So the final word is this: if you're in Southern California and you're lucky enough to have a day to walk around, give Venice another shot. You might take a trip there and get slapped in the soul by an artist the same way I was. A shocking number of people I know have "done the Venice thing" and never gone back. Give it a second look. Give beauty a chance. And if the sun is shining, look out for Ra.
About Ra, from his website:
".. I love colours and poetry. My work has been described as healing, colourful, playful and childlike full of love and light.."
"RA SUPERSTAR is the international art superstar. He was born in Oceanside California, slept under a bridge, jammed with strangers and then found out he was an art star."
"Well I was in New York trying to find myself as part of my spiritual journey. I was sleeping on Brooklyn bridge with my drum and my suitcase and I was asking god for a sign to show me who I am and what I am capable of… I spent 7 nights on the bridge (drumming for money, writing, sleeping, it was my home). People would come and bring me food and drinks and all kind of nice gestures. Even people who sold fruits and cakes in Manhattan at the market would bring it at the end of the bridge 3 times a week.
They saw me living on the bridge and they all gave me free food and they even wouldn't let me pay. There was so much love. I would drum all day and only leave the bridge to eat and to use the restroom. I got to know the joggers, tourists and the people who commute every morning and they would see me still sleep with my drum in my arms on the bench.
It was hard but I birthed myself. I met an artist. His name was Pep. In my darkest moment Pep showed up and offered me a night at his house to rest and eat, so I went. I was amazed from the moment I walked in his house. He painted on the walls and there was nude women hanging on the walls everywhere. He lived with his agent who sells his art to his buddies he works with on Wallstreet. It was like a light flashed and I knew I wanted to be an artist from that moment on."
The original article about Joshua Bell can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
A massive thank you to Ra for letting me interview him. Because I know you, I have been changed for good.
Share This Article
