A mandala is a diagram of the universe—a map of true reality that in Tibet is used to conceptualize a rapid path to enlightenment. This exhibition explores the imagery of the Himalayan Buddhist devotional art through over 100 paintings, sculptures, textiles, instruments, and an array of ritual objects, mostly dating between the 12th and 15th centuries. This dazzling visual experience provides a roadmap for understanding Himalayan Buddhist worship through early masterworks, juxtaposed with a newly commissioned contemporary installation by Tibetan artist Tenzing Rigdol.
Beautifully presented in two volumes, Taklung Painting: A Study in Chronology, establishes a reliable foundation for assigning dates to nearly one hundred paintings associated with Taklung Monastery in Central Tibet and its sister monatery, Riwoche, in eastern Tibet. Using vsual images (the succession of teachers represented in the top, side, and, occasionally, the bottom registers of paintings), inscriptions, narrative scenes (in which principal structures in the Taklung monastery compound may be linked to specific dates), and style analysis, the author identifies fundamental parameters that help create firm chronological designations for these c. twelfth to mid-sixteenth century paintings. The essential two-volume set includes more than 800 images, illustrating Taklung paintings in vivid detail, pointing out key visual comparisons and deciphering their many inscriptions.
Project Himalayan Art is an interdisciplinary resource for learning about Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures. This three part-initiative—encompassing a digital platform, publication, and traveling exhibition—is designed to support the inclusion of these cultures into undergraduate teaching on Asia. The project focuses on cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the center and Buddhism as the thread that connects the diverse cultural regions.
Himalayan Art in 108 Objects is an object-centered introduction to Himalayan art and material culture from Neolithic to contemporary times, focusing on cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the center and Buddhism as the thread that connects these diverse cultural regions.