Buddhist Art News

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Photos from the Festival here. - Buddhist Art News

Ians, July 2nd, 2009

HEMIS - Dancers draped in silk moved to the beat of drums, evil spirits were warded off and over 60,000 plastic water bottles were collected as the annual three-day Hemis festival began.

The slopes of the mighty Choeling mountain, 43 km south of Leh, the capital of Ladakh, came alive with the traditional colours of Buddhism. This time with a green mission.

The festival began Wednesday at the 300-year-old Buddhist monastery of Hemis Jangchub Choling, the biggest and richest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh.

The seat of the 800-year-old Tibetan Drukpa sect, the dominant faith in Ladakh, the monastery is located at an altitude of nearly 12,000 feet overlooking the Indus river. Wherever you turn, you see peaks sprinkled with late summer snow. Read the rest of this entry »

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with Auspicious Water Flask. The water in Avalokitesvara's flask is said to have the power to wash away all the evil in the human world. (Courtesy of Chiang Yi-tze)

Taiwan Review, Publication Date：07/01/2009
JIM HWANG

After “disappearing” for four decades, Chiang Yi-tze has returned to Taiwan’s art scene with paintings drawn from the core of Chinese culture.

In November 2007, a solo exhibition entitled The Art of Tao: Chinese Paintings and Sculptures by Chiang Yi-tze was held at the Yat-sen Gallery of Taipei’s National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Sculptures in the exhibition were vivid and the paintings were eye-catching as they demonstrated a spectrum of Chinese painting skills. While many exhibitions are collaborative efforts by several artists who specialize in different subject matter, Chiang painted every stroke and molded every piece of clay himself.

The subject matter of the exhibition, however, was unfamiliar to many viewers who lacked a deep understanding of the elements of Chinese culture, as instead of the usual landscapes, flowers and such, many of the works centered on Confucianism and Buddhism. The name of the artist was also unfamiliar to younger art lovers, as it was Chiang’s first exhibition since 1969. Older generations, however, remember Chiang as a very well established artist who won the first prize at the Taiwan Provincial Fine Arts Exhibition for three consecutive years shortly before he “disappeared” from Taiwan’s art scene for nearly four decades.

Chiang was born in mainland China in 1938 in Minhou County, Fujian province. He became interested in Chinese painting while attending school there. “I was fascinated when first seeing how village school teachers could complete a piece with a few strokes of the brush,” Chiang says. “They did it so easily and so elegantly that I began to dream of doing it myself someday.” However, his dream was soon interrupted by the Chinese Civil War. In 1949, he left the mainland and took up residence in Taichung, central Taiwan, along with his father and an elder brother, who was a career army officer and the sole breadwinner of the family. At the time, a career officer’s thin paycheck was hardly enough to cover daily necessities, let alone support a younger brother and pay for painting lessons. Read the rest of this entry »

Mahakala, 19th century Tibet Opaque watercolor on cotton comp: 29-3/4 x 19-1/4 in. (75.6 x 48.9 cm); mount: 31 x 20-1/2 in. (78.7 x 52.1 cm) Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Beata and Michael McCormick, P.2001.07

Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena will run an exhibition named ‘Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art’ from August 14, 2009 to March 8, 2010.

Visitors to the Museum are accustomed to viewing peaceful, benevolent Buddhist deities, such as smiling Buddhas deep in meditation or serenely blissful bodhisattvas beckoning to us. But scattered throughout the Asian galleries is a striking assortment of demonic, wrathful deities—figures that bare fangs, drink blood, wear garlands of severed heads or are surrounded by fiery haloes.

Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art, an intimate exhibition of paintings, sculptures and ceremonial ritual objects from the Museum’s permanent collection, explores this fascinating theme.

As embodiments of the “demonic divine,” wrathful deities serve as protectors and guardians of the Buddhist faith. Mahakala is an especially fierce deity who militantly tramples a figure that represents obstacles. Resplendently adorned with a tiara of skulls, writhing snakes and a multitude of spiritual weapons, he is one of the most important protectors of the religion.

Hayagriva has three faces, each with a wicked expression, and he is depicted with three horse heads emerging from his flame–like hair. A defender deity, Hayagriva is able to control snakes by his neighing; he tramples on serpents and vanquishes them.

Also included in the exhibition are numerous ritual implements, such as those held by many of the deities in the paintings and sculptures. A dagger known as a phurbu, a type of stake or peg, is a symbolic weapon wielded by priests during Buddhist rituals to expel demonic forces. Read the rest of this entry »

KashmirWatch, 28 June 2009

Discovered in 2004, site still awaits formal excavation while its artifacts stand robbed off

Irfan Naveed

Srinagar, June 28: The official neglect towards the important historic sites of archeological importance continues without much respite � the archeological site at Latipura village in Pulwama being one such ill-fated place which has been plundered to hilt.

Sources say the robbers have already cleared off the site of its valuable treasures. Read the rest of this entry »

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 June 2009, 01:53 GMT]

The North and East of the island of Sri Lanka should first be subjected to ‘archaeological’ investigation to prove the land’s Sinhala ownership, before its ‘resettlement’, is the demand of the National Front of Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka, reported Virakesari a few days ago. If archaeology has any say, the entire island having microlithic sites of prehistoric period has to be resettled by Veddas, and if enough Veddas are not found in the island they could still be found among their next of kin outside, ranging from the Austro-Asiatic tribes of the South Asian subcontinent to aborigines of Borneo, Papua New Guinea and Australia, commented an academic of ethnic studies in the island. Read the rest of this entry »

The colorful hand-woven flags are hung outside in communities around the world to fade, unravel and release the messages of hope, peace and renewal into the world.

As notes continue to pour in, York artist is still weaving flags

By Ruth Maron
yorkweekly@seacoastonline.com
Seacoastonline.com, July 01, 2009 6:00 AM

Tibetan prayer flags are an ancient Buddhist tradition dating back thousands of years. Called “Lung Ta,” meaning “wind horse,” these brightly colored pieces of cloth flutter in the wind to release messages of hope for the benefit of all. They are imprinted with words and images, carrying our prayers on the wind to touch every living being. Generally found hanging in high places atop mountains, shrines, rooftops or trees, the flags wave gently in the breeze or flap fiercely in strong gusts.

What can be more fitting for these troubled times? Read the rest of this entry »

The Fowler Museum at UCLA presents an exhibition on the history of tea in Asia, Europe, and America through art.

08/16/2009 - 11/29/2009

Fowler Museum
Cost: Free

Hot or iced, bagged or loose, black or green—whatever form it takes, enjoying a cup of tea is an act performed at least three billion times a day the world over. Indeed, more people drink tea than any other beverage except water. Steeped in History: The Art of Tea—on display at the Fowler Museum at UCLA from Aug 16–Nov 29, 2009—is a wide-ranging survey that brings together art from three continents and many centuries to delve into the history and culture of tea.

Traveling from Asia to the West, tea has played a variety of profound roles on the world scene—as an ancient health remedy, an element of cultural practice, and source of spiritual insight. Historically it was also a catalyst for international conflicts and horrific labor conditions in various countries. Read the rest of this entry »

Danwei.org
Posted by Joel Martinsen, June 30, 2009 3:18 PM

Two famous Chinese mountains were put up for UNESCO World Heritage status this year. Shanxi’s Mount Wutai was successful and was recognized for its wealth of Buddhist architecture.

Mount Song, a Daoist peak in Henan Province that is home to the Shaolin Temple, missed the cut and had its application put off until next year.

Not to worry, writes Xie Yong in an op-ed for the The Beijing News chock full of martial arts references: the persistence of regional authorities in their pursuit of international recognition will eventually wear down the judging panel and win World Heritage status for Mount Song as well: Read the rest of this entry »

From a blog called “FUKE: AN ALLIANCE OF DHARMA ARTISTS”.

I have been asked by John Tarrant Roshi, Roshi to revive the Zen Buddhist Lineage known as FUKE.
The new vision of FUKE is an alliance of practicing Buddhist artists including, visual artists, performance artists, musicians, calligraphers and writers. I encourage you to participate by asking questions and submitting your comments.

Brian Howlett, Sensei, Art Director Pacific Zen Institute

Wikipedia entry on Fuke Zen.

[link]

Tuesday June 30, 2009

blog.beliefnet.com

Pina Bausch died Tuesday, five short days following her cancer diagnosis. German choreographer bad-ass, founder of the groundbreaking company Tanztheater, and one the most beloved dance innovators of my generation, Pina Bausch’s death is a shock.

Although best known to the general non-danceaphila audience by Pedro Almadovar’s use of her work in the beautiful film, Talk To Her, for any dance lover and for anyone in the dance theater community, attending the next Pina Bausch show (for us New Yorkers, at BAM) was a ritual (and scene) not to be missed. Even after her style became so parroted that it lost some of its freshness, there was a singularly raw, sexy, beautiful, quirky, and exhuberant energy to her shows. She stretched her gorgeous dancers out on rocks and blanketed them with floral projections then had them recreate a 1930’s barbershop which got interrupted by an enormous whale flopping on stage. It was all dance, and it all made sense in a way that you could only shake your head admiringly at, and, of course, leap to your feet when she came out, dressed in military boots, fishnets and multi-colored hair to take her choreographer bow. Read the rest of this entry »