Ra Paulette born August 1940 in Indiana, loves his art so much that he basically isolated himself for 25 years from the outside world, to spend time in the caves of northern New Mexico in the United States, alone with his dog. Chipping scraping and digging away into the mountainsides carving out wondrous light-filled caverns. each pile of dirt was intentionally dug and personally discarded by Ra, as the concepts of the luminous caves delves even deeper than the sheer wonder of one person creating a masterpiece of this scale, alone, every day for over the years.
“Manual labor is the foundation of my self expression. To do it well, to do it beautifully, is a “whole-person” activity, engaging mental and emotional strengths as well as physical strength”
Across 14 different caves in the desert outside of San Jose, Ra has been creating an underground fantasy world with nothing but the power of his own hands. Sometimes using preexisting crevasse and others simply tunneling into the soft sandstone cliffs the artist creates singular subterranean spaces to which he ascribes a sort of spiritual power.
It's amazing what you can do almost alone, with the presence of your dog!
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.
Photos of Ra's psychedelic sandstone temples:
