Well here’s a guy who puts the ‘mental’ in ‘monumental.’ What is going on in the landscape of the American southwest that is spawning these utterly mad and wondrous projects? First we learned of James Turrell re-purposing the Roden Crater in Arizona with his still unfinished complex of tunnels, viewing rooms, and luminous, numinous oculi (please, before I die). Now comes Ra Paulette — one state over in New Mexico, and the subject of the Oscar-nominated short documentary “CaveDigger” — who has also found his inspiration below the surface. (Trailer after the jump.) I wonder if the two men know each other.
Ra Paulette digs cathedral-like, ‘eighth wonder of the world’ art caves into the sandstone cliffs of Northern New Mexico. Each creation takes him years to complete, and each is a masterwork. But patrons who have commissioned caves have cut off nearly all of his projects due to artistic differences.
This Friday the Cable Car Cinema will start screening the 2014 Oscar Nominated Short Films; there is an animated category as well as live action.
And if you can figure out how the people marketing this particular film want you to write its title please tell me. Cavedigger, Cave Digger, or CaveDigger — I don’t care, just pick one.
Starts Friday, January 31st, Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main Street
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