McLaughlin speaks in a booming, authoritative voice, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, as he leads a tour of his art studio where a giant clown hangs from the ceiling and a series of tarred and feathered sculptures grace a table. His space is located in a converted garage that is part of a community of artists in downtown Santa Barbara. Richard’s work spans more than 30 years and includes murals, paintings, public sculpture as well as interactive and self-propelled pieces like a giant walking robot.
In all of his work, there is a yogic sensibility that comes from his practice and an exploratory nature reminiscent of mining experience through the practice. Some pieces more than others explicitly reflect yogic themes. A hanging sphere playing with the poetry of the universe wraps spirals around an inner core. Another sculpture evokes the gunas (qualities): sattva (equanimity or balance), rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia). He points to it: “The idea is the very center, the place where the yogi balances the gunas and rises above them.”
Art as spectacle catches Richard’s interest, as in the creation of giant puppets gracing a stage, which is why this lanky yoga teacher was one of the founding artists and artistic directors of the annual Santa Barbara Solstice summer parade. Richard’s teachings too, through words, demonstrations and adjustments, also set the scene for the process of sculpting, this time the human body into the asana (postures) of the Iyengar tradition.
“You constantly work with what you’re given to see greater balance and alignment.”
“Yoga and creating art share the continuous process of exploration and penetration and of using the materials you’re given. With the body you begin with the structure of the body: its balances, imbalances and injuries. You constantly work with what you’re given to see greater balance and alignment. After deeply entering into the physical or organic body, the penetration occurs in a more layered fashion, with greater depth within the psychological, emotional, intellectual and spiritual un derstandings of the body,” says Richard. Whether sculpting a statue or a practice, Richard is relentlessly adding, taking away and balancing creative energy with destructive forces to find a neutral place of balance. Through this interaction, he says, comes the greatest possible expression of ultimate potential.
This whittling and layering has taken place in his own life and journey into both art and yoga studios. From a young age, Richard possessed an expansive view since he grew up roaming the world with his family because his father worked for the U.S. State Department. They lived in locations as far-flung as Japan and Tehran. A sense of curiosity about cosmology and the poetry of the universe led him to attend the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic University in New Jersey to study particle physics. Although a ROTC scholarship provided fuel for his studies, distaste for the Vietnam War initiated a change in plans. A move out West, studying art and pursuing a career as an artist allowed Richard to explore the poetry of the universe from a different vantage point.
While working as a studio artist, showing work in galleries and participating in developing community-based art projects, a friend introduced him to Iyengar yoga. He began attending classes at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Los Angeles (IYILA) 16 years ago. “Practicing yoga helped me refine my art-making process.”
First practicing in class weekly, Richard’s dedication grew until he was visiting the studio once or even twice a day. That led to completing the IYILA teacher training 13 years ago. Richard credits his teachers, including Gloria Goldberg, Karin O’Bannon and Manouso Manos with being inspirational influences. His continued study includes a regular private practice, four trips to Pune, India, the home of Iyengar yoga, regular pilgrimages to spend time with senior teachers and earning Intermediate Junior 2 certification in the Iyengar system.
Leaving behind his Los Angeles studio, since pandering to the economic vagaries of the marketplace didn’t hold his interest, Richard migrated to Santa Barbara. His art here has focused on creative community projects including active involvement in the Solstice Parade as well as a 10-year stint as a visual artist with City at Peace, working with youths at risk. In his teaching, he serves as a guide through the process of uncovering essence through yoga. “It’s an expression of finding spirit and freedom, of finding a personal truth and making it a universal one,” he says. This is the role of the yogi and the artist, whatever the studio.
