"The work itself has a complete circle of meaning and counterpoint. And without your involvement as a viewer, there is no story"

Anish Kapoor’s perspective expresses a profound understanding of the connection between an artwork, its intrinsic structure, and the necessary active role played by its audience. The “complete circle of meaning and counterpoint” refers to the internal coherence and the dynamic interplay within a creative work, the way ideas, forms, and opposing elements coalesce to generate a sense of wholeness. Kapoor sees the work as possessing its own internal narrative or resonance, a dialogue of themes, materials, or visual tensions that interact to form a self-contained universe. Yet, that completeness remains, in a sense, dormant until it is encountered.

Art’s existence is not solitary or unidimensional; its meanings and resonances emerge fully only in the presence of a viewer, someone open to receiving and engaging with its possibilities. Kapoor emphasizes that art is not simply an object but an event, one that requires the witnessing, perception, and interpretation of another. The “story” implied here is not the artist’s alone, nor is it embedded solely in the material or form of the artwork itself. Instead, it arises in the active encounter between object and observer. Meaning unfolds as a collaborative act; the emotional, intellectual, and sensory responses of the viewer breathe life into the silent completeness of the art.

This philosophy democratizes the creative experience, the viewer is not passive, but rather a participant who brings their own memories, understandings, and emotions into play. Each encounter can generate a different “story,” shaped by an individual’s perspective and history, making the artwork’s narrative endlessly mutable and alive. In summary, Kapoor asserts that the fullest expression of art is realized only when met by a receptive, involved viewer, suggesting that art’s vitality lies in the ever-renewing interaction between its own internal completeness and the external engagement it invites.