The Inner Turmoil of Chamel Raghu
When I was a kid, I remember having insomnia the night before going to Six Flags. Visions of rollercoasters danced through my head. All I could think about was how many rides I would conquer, and what huge $5 stuffed animal I would win (after spending $50 to play a game). This is the same way that I felt the evening before my interview with Chamel Raghu. It seemed like peeking behind the curtain, and discovering the great & powerful Oz. I had read all kinds of things online about the artist, some good, some bad, but he seemed like an elusive fictional character that was as rare as the dragons he paints (we’ll talk about that later).
I hadn’t seen any pics of Chamel online, which I later learned was intentional, so I had no idea what to expect. Was he going to be some dark, somber introvert who would make it awkward? Was he a raging lunatic who would murder me, and hide the body in his freezer? It sounds crazy, but these days, you never know what you’ll find when you’re alone in someone’s personal space - in this case, Chamel’s studio.
With all of these random thoughts filling my brain, my heart was in my throat when I rang his doorbell. As the door opened, I was greeted by a million dollar smile and a friendly voice. I was warmly welcomed in, and immediately plied with donut holes and bottomless Ozarka. His studio was immaculate, very minimalist. We sat down at a table in front of a computer screen that was showing YouTube videos. I think they were art-related, but I was too nervous to remember.
This is the part where we peel back the layers. Meet Chamel Raghu. His first name is pronounced “shuh mell,” and his last name is pronounced just like the spaghetti sauce, “Ragu.” He’s the oldest of 3 children, having a younger brother and a younger sister. He was born in Cincinnati, OH to a mother of Chinese descent, and a father of Indian (not Native American) heritage. His father is a physician, and when Chamel was 3, the family moved to Galveston, TX. Eventually, his father’s job required Chamel’s family to move to Odessa, TX, where Chamel went to high school. He then went on to attend UT Austin, graduating in 2002.
I know, I know. You want to hear about the juicy stuff, namely the “Asia Rebirth” painting, aka “The Dragon.” First of all, let me tell you that this thing is HUGE! It’s 9 feet by 9 feet, and even more spectacular in person. The picture I took with my crappy iPhone does not do it justice. The canvas is atypical, a thick linen that he hand-stretched over a wooden frame. Due to the sheer weight of the canvas (and to prevent the wood from bowing), Chamel reinforced the wood with aluminum. He also had to paint it while standing up. He once tried to lay it on the ground to paint, but was almost crushed to death by it falling on him! Chamel did the drawing in 2010, and put in 2 years of painting. He officially completed the work in August 2015.
I asked Chamel how he felt about his work being called “The Painting of the Century.” With a huge grin, he replied, “That’s really flattering. The other thing I think is that this is sarcasm. I don’t chalk it up to what I’ve really done, but more to sensationalism. It makes me wonder… like ok, Kylie Jenner’s wearing a tan top today, wow is the word, and I’m like what does that make me? I mean, I throw a piece of dust on a canvas, and they call it the ‘Collage of the Century.’ I’m flattered by it, but I would love for them to be sincere.”
We delved into the symbolism of the painting. He really seemed interested in my interpretation, and asked me to use 3 words to describe it. The one that resonated the most with him is “tumultuous.” He responded by saying, “Yeah, I know for a fact there’s a lot of turmoil, a whole bunch, & I think the color, smoothness & gradients are kind of the sweet coating of what is actually a very compositionally tumultuous piece.” Chamel explained that the theme is Eastern vs. Western culture. He’s of mixed Asian descent, but grew up in America, and he has had to struggle with the middle ground where both cultures meet, a place of stark contrast. Where Eastern tends to be more traditional, Western has lately been experiencing a moral decay of sorts.
Upon closer observation of the painting, you notice all of the painstaking details. In the background on the left side, there are rocks representing the Grand Canyon (Western), and on the right, a rendering of the Himalayas (Eastern). Also, you can faintly see what looks like some sort of writing in the background. Chamel admitted that the writing started as a mistake, but after agonizing over it, and consulting with his friends, he decided to keep it and call it a “happy mistake” a la Bob Ross. We agreed that sometimes the best elements of any artwork are unintentional.
The thing that struck me the most about the painting was the vibrant color palette. Ironically enough, Chamel thinks he’s horrible with color. His favorite part of the piece was the actual drawing. When it came to painting the colors, he struggled his way through.
After seeing such an intricate work, I was curious as to why the rumor mills are still buzzing about the artist’s injuries or disabilities. Chamel thinks the urban legend was actually started by an old friend of his who he happened to see at Medici one day. He questioned Chamel about where he had been for so long, since he had not seen him in years. After that encounter, Chamel learned that people were saying he had hurt his wrist, and was disabled. He revealed his perspective to me, “It snowballed. They think that hey, he hasn’t shown anything in years; therefore, he can’t move, he’s dead, he’s whatever. I’m partly to blame. It’s fine though. I’m alive, so…” He said he used to paint for 36 hours straight when he was in college, fueled by very little food and a healthy dose of apple cider. Now, he’s lucky to get in a few good hours. It makes sense though. When you’re 21, you can live like a maniac, and never rest, but as you get older, you just can’t party like a rock star anymore. He’s no more disabled than you or me. It’s just something that happens when you get older, like an author with carpal tunnel or an NBA player with knee pain. There’s really nothing to worry about here. From what I’ve seen, he’s not slowing down anytime soon!
The other thing I was dying to know was about the negative PR surrounding the Harvard Review article, where in one breath, the magazine included him in the “Battle of the Prodigies,” but then turned around and called him “woefully unproductive.” Chamel found out about it through a friend. His buddy was completely stoked, and told him to read it; the only problem is that his friend had not read the entire article, especially the shitty part. The weird thing is that the publication never even reached out to Chamel for an interview beforehand. Chamel’s theory is, “This is when I realized that people will write things for the sake of either making things sensationalistic, or for filling in space. If I could use one word to describe it, it would be ‘flattered.’
I also wanted to see what all the hype was surrounding his three artistic movements. Chamel wasn’t even aware that he started a movement. In 1999, he broke away from realism. He started creating sharper images with more angles. One day when Chamel was in Asel Art, he met someone who would come to be his friend, Tim Doyle. Tim asked to see some of Chamel’s stuff. After he showed Tim some 35mm prints of his work, Tim looked through the collection, and stated matter-of-factly, “This is Anglism.” He thought about it for a minute, and responded by saying, “Hmmm… I guess that’s what it is.” Chamel took this departure as a means of experimentation, to challenge himself to not do things in a conventional way just to see if they can be done. He admits that the “Rebirth” painting is part of this movement, but by accident. He didn’t mean to make it angular, and says it came out that way, just like a burp. That’s only one movement, so I asked about the other two. He was a little tight-lipped on those, so we’ll just have to wait and see how they develop. (argh!)
It was interesting to me that he had done so many architecture-related drawings. We touched lightly on the whole ordeal over one of his designs being stolen, but that’s in the past. Chamel says he never studied architecture, or wanted to be an architect. He has just always had an interest in structure. He thinks architecture is just like a big, useable sculpture. He sees architecture as “the ultimate form of three-dimensional art.”
We talked about social media, and it’s something that’s pretty foreign to Chamel. He doesn’t know how or where he became an icon for social media leaders, but he’s thankful either way. There’s a team out there that has built & developed his website, and it keeps growing. The only thing that makes Chamel a little uncomfortable is posting pictures of himself. It’s anxiety-provoking, and he feels like, “I want to be remembered for what I did, not what I looked like.” He sheepishly told me that he has no idea how to leave a digital footprint. We had an in-depth conversation about trolls and trolling. Chamel wasn’t sure why there was a negative connotation since all he knew about trolls was that they were little dolls with pink hair! It’s ok. I broke it down, and gave him the 411, so he now knows how to spot them.
What’s next for Chamel? He’s actually looking to get back to what he loves: drawings. The underlying theme is war, focusing on the violence happening in other countries. He hasn’t been personally been to the Middle East, but is mortified by the things that some of his friends tell him. He says that there are things going on right now that are universally bad. The more he talks to older generations, the more he sees that those things have been going on for a long time, and continue today. He just wants to draw things that are close to his heart right now.
There were a couple of other things that stood out about Mr. Raghu. He doesn’t have cable (of any kind, not even a Roku), and hasn’t since 2004, so no Netflix and chill either. He watches a lot of YouTube videos, but doesn’t seem to follow any shows. He’s also one of the most prolific artists that I have met yet he has never sold any of his art. Maybe it’s because they’re pieces of his heart. Seriously. He had offers from buyers in the past, but he declined. He said it would be like having kids, and someone making an offer on little Timmy! You just can’t put a price on your “babies.”
Even though I spent a good chunk of time with Chamel, it seemed like just a few minutes had passed. The conversation flowed, and I felt like I was talking to an old friend. He was completely harmless, other than being a donut hole pusher, trying to make me take them home. If they’re in his house, they’ll call out to him, and haunt him until he eats them. Nom, nom, nom…
I’m not trying to convince you to feel one way or another about Chamel’s art. He has lots of admirers, but also his fair share of critics. There are some who don’t even feel the “Rebirth” painting is finished because it doesn’t have enough colors. Art is subjective, and opinions are free, so please form your own. The journey starts here:
chamel.com
I’ll leave you with these nuggets straight from the artist’s mouth (he’s highly quotable):
“Everyone has a statement to make. Everyone expresses themselves differently.”
“We’re all scatterbrains to some degree.”
“Sculptors are instruments of their own brains.”
“We’re all human & capable of the worst. I’m no angel.”
“Where there’s humanity, there’s corruption”
“I don’t want to react to things & then do something because then, you’re just a puppet of other people’s opinions.”
