artiste d'mon >>> Ray Caesar

Ray Caesar
Marching to a different ide
Interview by: Silverio Pantalla

Who is Ray Caesar?
When you're having a lousy day, riding home on the bus, being shoved and pushed and you have just about had it, there is this guy with a dog who smiles at you and offers you his seat! I like to think that guy would be me.

Why the big heads?
Dolls! I grew up constantly playing with my sister's dolls! I removed heads and arms and placed them on other bodies. I posed dolls in constructed dioramas and took great pleasure at looking at the final result. I started drawing and sculpting early in life and as I look at the many stages of art that I have created over the years I can see dolls and dioramas in everything. Strange thing is, none of my friends ever made fun of me about it! maybe they knew I would beat the crap out of them.

What is your method?
I use a 3D modeling software as I worked for some years in the visual effects field. It is the perfect tool for me to construct what I think of as toys. I have a huge inkjet printer sitting on my dining room table, my wife hasn't said anything about it as yet even though its as big as a piano.

What is your most important goal in life?
I define what I believe to be good and I try to live up to it.

I challenge myself to not be rigid in my judgments, to improve my empathy and constantly rid my mind of hate and replace it with love and understanding............

I wouldn't mind being rich either.........

Ok! Rich and very healthy.....ok! ok!..

Rich, very healthy and happy............ and a private jet.

If you could have just one wish; what could it be?
That a nice Alien species visits Earth and brings hope, peace and happiness and gives every one a flying car and some fresh fruit.

If you could meet anyone living or dead; who would that be and why?
Well it would have to be someone living because I have met a few dead people and they can really make you jump. I figure the living person would be Tim Burton. I truly admire his work and feel he is a huge influence on what I do. I would also like to meet William Shatner, David Lynch, Tilda Swinton, Oprah, Tony Blair, Harper Lee, Ridley Scott, David Bowie and Queen Elizabeth II.

If you had to live in one room for your entire life, what would it look like?
It would be a round room with a big round window through which I could hear the ocean and see the tops of palm trees. I really hope that this room you want me to live in isn't a jail or something because that wouldn't be nice.

Does the theater play a big role in your life?
I love going to the theater. I love the feeling of energy that exists on stage and in the audience.

I have often thought that when we die, the houselights go on .......we finally see the audience ..... and if we have done our best, we get a standing ovation and everyone we have ever met in our life joins hands and gives a honest bow.

Why do you not mind eating avocados?
I think Avocadoes are the perfect food! They are green and healthy and delicious.......

I think I would need them in that room you want to make me live in for the rest of my life.

Who have been some of your main influences as an artist and as a person?
My wife Jane, she is the most gentle person I have ever had the privilege to meet.

I worked in a Children's Hospital for over 17 years and I have to say that I feel the children in that place had such a profound effect on me that I don't think I would have become an artist or the person I am today if it were not for them.

I worked in a art and photography department that documented the hardships that these courageous children go through and if my art honors anything, it honors them.

Finish the following statement: Good artists borrow, great artists...
continue to learn from what they have borrowed and understand that all the good things that have been made on this Earth are built on the things that came before them.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Probably on a downtown bus with a dog, offering my seat to someone who has had a hard day.