For Guyanese artist Keith Agard painting is an ethereal and cosmic experience

For Guyanese artist Keith Agard, painting is neither a hobby nor a way to make a living – it is an ethereal and cosmic experience unlike any other. Born and raised in Georgetown, Agard who has a charismatic and serene demeanour is a long standing member of the Soka Gakhai International (SGI) of Jamaica, a value creating organisation for the promotion of peace through education and culture. The artist is devoted to the path of spiritual reawakening, in accordance with the teaching of a 13th century Japanese sage known as Nichiren Daishonin.
The SGI has integrated these teachings within the context of modern global society. The beliefs in accordance with “the universal Mystic Law of cause and effect” the SGI believes is the basis for creating a new culture of peace and happiness out of the diverse nature of our humanity.

“Institutions such as Burrowes School of Art are important because art is a vital institution if we are talking about growth through and development and the moulding of young minds.”

The aesthetic and cultural context out of which Keith Agard as artist attempts to create and express value , is inspired by his  passion to seek harmony with the infinite cosmic intelligence and a quest for total brotherhood among all people.
The artist was greatly influenced by E.R Burrowes, the Guyanese art pioneer who tutored him privately in his studio in the evenings after school and during school holidays.

In 1977 he graduated from the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts and began a career in teaching at the School of Art in Guyana, aptly named after his friend and mentor E.R. Burrowes. He later became principal of the school while simultaneously lecturing at the University of Guyana.  Returning to Jamaica in 1983, he took up a position as a lecturer at the Shortwood Teachers College, and then at the Edna Manly College.
Also a graduate of the Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, Agard is engaged as Principal of the Institute of Arts and Culture which he co-founded in 2007.
The evening hosted at the beautiful Umana Yana in Kingston, last week began with the artist issuing a challenge to attendees: “If you were required to mount a one picture exhibition which painting would you choose?
The viewers eagerly participated by selecting the various paintings that reached out to them. Some asked the artist what he was thinking when he painted each piece. In one piece titled “Shakatani Healing”, Agard spoke about the findings of Jamaican psychiatrist Professor
Fred Hickling who said that “Shakatani” is a psychological problem common in Jamaica. Hickling said that over 40 percent of Jamaicans suffer from personality disorder since like most people in the Caribbean, they suffer from problems of power and control. The word he coined is from two Swahili words: “Shaka” meaning “Power” and “Tani” meaning “problem”. As Agard explained his piece depicted a healing of the Shakatani in a piece titled “Rainbow Lotus Jaguar”. He noted that in the Buddhist faith the lotus represented cause and effect. He said the image represented part of that process of Shakatani healing. He noted that Guyanese have to awake the process of Shakatani healing. The whole process is to move from chaos to order.
Agard strongly believes that persons must react to art   with their own feeling. “Your sensibility and feelings is the core of the artistic experience. The artistic enquiry is a process of self inquiry, self approval and self empowerment”, he explained. Speaking about the effect of imagery on our lives colour, music etc, he noted that we often do not take into account, the effect of visuals. The etheric forces, the sensory capacity. The images of our mind control our life. We have to be careful what images we expose our children to. The artistic process is a thinking process and a translating process. How do you transfer a thought into a physical thing? We live not only in the physical space s of our home but in the internal spaces of our mind.
Agard stressed that art is a vital part in the whole education system. To give an example, he noted that one colour red, you can write a whole dissertation on.
One piece looked somewhat like a dartboard to the casual observer, but it all became clear as the artist explained that each piece was related to the sacredness and sancticity of life – “The sacred geometry”. When we live our lives that doesn’t harmonise with the rest of the universe that’s when we get into trouble, he believes.
Reminding that art was an integral part of traditional societies, Agard said institutions such as Burrowes School of Art  are important because art is a vital institution if we are talking about growth through and development and the moulding of young minds.

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