The Colored Sketches Collection
‘The Colored Sketches Collection’ or ‘Le Recueil d’Esquisses Colorées’ in its original French title, is a Collection of Colored Drawings about the reality of an authentic inner life. It also contains 7 Poetic Texts on the same subjects, and others. We have conducted an interview with the author AKA Louis.
How does your name 'AKA Louis' differentiate and affects you as a writer, poet, and illustrator?
‘AKA Louis’ is not a name I have chosen, it’s a name that was given or proposed to me After I’ve asked some ideas about a pen name… Progressively, I’ve found other references than the basic ones which were proposed with the name. ‘AKA Louis’ is a reference to the Japanese words ‘AKA’ and ‘AKARUI’ which mean ‘red’ and ‘lightness’ or ‘brightness’… In a way, it can mean ‘shinning red’… Through history, language, and culture of original people, ‘AKA’ is linked to the idea of what is original, essential, vital, but also to the reality of what is rejected or marginal. In old Turkish, ‘AKA’ means ‘Older Brother’. I’m the only son of my mother, but in my family, I’ve had to play the role of an older brother, cause I’m the 1st of my generation on my mother side. It has enabled me to discover the ambiguity of life and society and the ambivalence of Reality… It is often said that ‘the first will be the last’… I think it’s true in a lot of ways… This is my personal experience. The ambivalence of Reality has affected me a lot… And even if I don’t write to talk about my personal life, as an Artist, I choose to deal with delicate issues and taboos that nobody wants to hear about, but in a non-frontal way, to make things evolve, without making people to much uncomfortable or disturbed in vain. This is what I do on the literary, poetic, and graphic plan. I provoke, not without real purpose, but to educate, and propose another kind of liberty and freedom. In French, ‘AKA Louis’ is quite close to ‘Alkaloids’… and Psychédélisme is a part of my artistic work. It’s not a promotion of dangerous and destructive experiences… that everyone should be careful about. It’s more a tribute to ‘Oriental’ Poetry and Culture, such as Persian Wine Poetry, and Drunkenness Poetry (See: Omar Khayyam, a famous Persian Poet) that you can also find, in a soberer way in China with Li Baï… or in Indian and Pakistani Cultures… Louis is the name of my grandfather, on my father side… So, AKA Louis, is Alias Louis… It’s a tribute to his singular personality… and to the Art of enjoy life and being true to our own soul, and to the others…
What inspires you to create this book about an authentic inner life that is a discipline that enables people to look at the world differently and poetically?
I’ve done a lot of researches about piety in my youth… I thought I was spiritual or made for spirituality but I’m not at all… I say that because it’s important to be careful about words… Nothing is really spiritual… And there’s nothing more important than enjoying life… When you enjoy life and have pleasure in your daily experiences, you find the strength to overcome your trials, and to stay positive. And when you have a positive way to look at the world and to see your life, your life becomes meaningful and you begin to have projects and to enjoy your life in a positive way… Real pleasure is not destructive, it is based on the blooming of your soul… This is what an authentic inner life is. This is not something dark and austere. This is the Art of Living, for real, while distinguishing Good from Evil… When you understand that, life becomes a real pleasure, that can’t create you useless difficulties… This is why we need Poetry, and this is why Poetry is so useful… For sure… Art is a concrete proposition to make the soul bloom and find a way among the traps…
How challenging is it to write this type of books?
To write this type of books you have to take it like a game… A serious game, but a game that enables you to propose experiences to the readers, and to yourself, as an Artist. It is a lot of discipline, cause there is a lot of emotions, delicate topics and issues, ambivalent references, unusual impressions, and original ways of drawing and writing… But this is also the opportunity to have fun, and to give pleasure and happiness to the readers and to the audience in general… You must take it seriously, but without taking yourself seriously… In terms of Art, this is really a beautiful experience…
Which is your most unusual piece of Poetic Film you have created? What is the highlight of this piece?
I’ve made a lot of videos, to illustrate my music, cause I’m also a musician, under another name. But ‘Poemes Cristoliens #1’ (Cristolian Poems: Creteil, the City of Dawn, in English) is my first visual piece under the name of ‘AKA Louis’. The means are humble… but I really like the result. This is a poetic film about Creteil, the City where I live near Paris, France. Creteil is a very nice town. But I would like to express an unusual point of view about a suburb of Paris. There a lot of beauty and harmony in my town and I would like to pay a tribute to this beauty through an artistic original piece. I think this is another level in comparison to my other videos. We need more positive and daring creations about the life of the youth in the urban cities… We need another way of making modern Art…
Who/what influences you the most while writing this musical Poem about the City where you live?
I would like to use the clichés about the suburbs but in a poetic way. I would like to hijack the clichés… to make them poetic images and metaphors. It’s like in Persian Poetry. Wine is a metaphor. Love is not what it seems to be, in all the variations of this word, and its realities. Pleasure is a way to guide you towards more light, serenity, and happiness. All that you can find in this world can be used in a constructive way if you are an Artist. This is the power of Poetry. Everything becomes possible with Poetry, even if you are in a trap and you can’t escape. Everything is possible if you dare to find a new way to live your life.
