Second Interview with Ashok Karra

Here is the conclusion of my discussion with Ashok from a few weeks ago. This time around we’re talking about the campus art culture and why there isn’t more of it.

So the last time we talked, we left off with what I think was an interesting paradox about UD; despite being a school that’s in many ways about art, we aren’t more overtly artsy. What do you mean by artsy, and what do you think is responsible for that?

(laughs) in every era, politics tends to take over the independent voice that defines art. And UD is a very political school. And one might ask, how did politics and religion merge so tightly. That’s above my pay grade. Be that as it may, everywhere you look at UD, there are reactionaries. Academic reactionaries who don’t like the loose standards of the 60’s and 70’s, more or less political reactionaries, Catholic reactionaries with very specific views on canon law, liturgy and of course church politics. Some are simply reactionaries against civilization. None of this is to accuse: many of these people would self-identify with certain movements readily. If they’re ashamed, they know they’re up to no good. So, the art that is epic, that is Greek drama, has in a way been co-opted by the community’s political leanings. It would be nice, say in Phil. Of Being, to point out that in Aristotle’s Metaphysics particular providence and general providence conflict. But many students end up thinking, not unrightly, that there’s a first cause, a prime mover, which is probably God.

The problem is not so much that hard-line Catholicism is taught in class; it isn’t. The students do get balance and plenty of serious, diverse voices. But what happens is that a conservative culture already has certain expectations of the core curriculum and unless you really drive the point home that these texts are subversive, people feel they have the totality of the art they need.

I guess my problem is that I’m skeptical about a complete conservatism; I’m not sure it’s possible to restore the milieu that animates a culture in a given time. But you can reclaim parts of it, and you can adapt it for a contemporary audience, and you can do it through art. Isn’t that something you can do with art, and why isn’t there more of a compulsion for UD students to do that?

UD has never been about the students in that way. It’s really about parents and families that would choose to send their kids here. This need not be a bad thing; you can still get, and we do often get, independent minds. But these independent minds are overburdened. You come here first semester and we have three classical epics, and potentially Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Ethics, waiting for you. I think The Odyssey is probably the hardest book ever written. Supposedly it’s about how soul meets body; I don’t see it. And the Ethics is a very curious book to say the least. Friendship is a virtue? Wisdom? (shrugs) Our students come in here and they want the straight A’s they’ve been getting since high school; they do want to make music, they want to explode creatively. But this place is expensive, so they might have to pick up other jobs, you have to study for something like four to five hours a day at least, just to keep your work in check; and our students are ambitious; they think they can do everything. Part of this is that they tend to be close to their families, and they tend to be encouraging in both good and not so realistic ways.

So you’re saying that on the one hand, the academic rigour at UD has a repressive effect on the independent pursuit of art, and the other major contributing factor is the financial burden. We can’t really speak to the financial burdens, but do you think more creative academic programs, like music or creative writing, or film even, would help improve the artistic culture on campus?

This is tricky, because I’ve been emphasizing that the problem is cultural, and goes deeper, than anything we can actually get a grasp on. For example, I do think the professors here do a great job. I do think the students try hard. I think the administration even shows competence and sensitivity at key times.

The problem with insisting on a class is that the creativity we’re looking for doesn’t quite work that way. To take one example, one of the lines I get the most out of in The Odyssey is probably mistranslated by Robert Fitzgerald; “dreamlike the soul flies, insubstantial.” The line has no real relevance to anything. It’s just beautiful. I used it to write my very first blog entry, and meditate on what it means to be substantial. The best thing you can give our students is freedom. Lighter course load, a little bit more help financially, and the encouragement to make mistakes, and the willingness to support them when things go awry.

So then, to wrap it up, in our first interview we started by talking about some of the artists at UD that do manage to be successful; can you speak to them a little bit? Just give us some names of artists and musicians and writers either at UD or graduated from UD that are doing well, in your opinion.

The recent senior show was wonderful: Francisco Vargas’ lifesize paintings on wood are some of the best visual art I’ve seen, period. He let the grain of the wood define much of the figures he painted; they seemed to emerge both defined and earthy from the negative space. Tasha Hobbs’ “Vibration” paintings made excellent, playful use of color and form. Carrie Baker’s suspended prints really did grab my attention when entering the show. I thought everyone else was solid, too – this is just off the top of my head.

I hope more people will pay attention to Yesica Moran’s ceramics. I’ve been talking with her about her artistic vision recently; I definitely have lots of questions as she is definitely pushing herself to do more with her chosen mode of expression. What she has planned looks like it will be spectacular. At last glance, a comment on growth and movement.

Unfortunately this concludes our conversations with Ashok for the time being. Tomorrow expect a review of Twelfth Night, just in time to contend with the print reviews, and later this week look for some by-the-numbers stuff with career services.