The exhibition, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, is being held at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and is being dubbed “the first of its kind in the United States.” According to the Smithsonian, the exhibition “addresses the artistic processes and aesthetic traditions of Tibet, Nepal and Kashmir, India. The approximately 100 masterpieces on view, most of which have never been publicly exhibited, include gilded sculptures and life-size paintings of bodhisattvas, Tibetan Buddhist thangkas, portraits of historical kings and donors, manuscript paintings and sculptures of Hindu deities, and maps and paintings that depict the Himalayas peaks and passes as a sacred landscape (or, as abode of the gods).”
Smithsonian says this is the first major exhibition to survey the artistic traditions of the entire Himalayan region. Dr. Pratapaditya Pal, curator emeritus of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA, curates the exhibition. In addition to an introductory video focusing on artistic process and religious ritual, a range of programs — including Tibetan debate, Nepalese dance, films about the Himalayas, and talks by Himalayas scholars — provides a broader cultural and religious context for the works of art.
Monks from Sera Jey monastery, re-established in South India, will display Tibetan traditions, including butter sculpture, chanting, Buddhist debate, and woodblock printing, etc. The exhibition will also see the screening of films with Tibetan themes, including Kundun by Martin Scorsese; Himalaya by Eric Valli; The Horse Thief by Tian Zhuangzhuang. Other films include Tsering Rhitar Sherpa’s Mask of Desire and Black Narcissus by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Prof. Robert Thurman of Columbia University is also scheduled to give a talk on Tibetan art.
The group of monks from Sera Jey has been on a tour of the United States since June 2003 and is scheduled to Raleigh, Elon, and Carrboro in North Carolina, New Mexico and Florida from September to December. You can email information@shiwatour.org for information about the monks’ tour program.
Given below are full details on the individual Tibetan programs during the exhibition.
FILMS
Himalaya
Friday, October 17, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Filmmaker Eric Valli’s years of living in Nepal inspired him to make this tale about a group of villagers’ annual yak caravan across the mountains to sell the salt they’ve mined. When their appointed leader dies unexpectedly, the caravan is split between two men vying for his position. Acted by actual villagers against the breathtaking landscape of the Himalayas, this film is a fascinating view of traditional Nepalese life mixed with a plot that resembles classic American Westerns. This film is in Tibetan with English subtitles and is part of the Spiritual Adventures: The Himalayas on Film series. France/Nepal / 1999 / 108 min.
Mask of Desire
Sunday, October 19, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
The first feature made with an entirely Nepalese cast and crew, Tsering Rhitar Sherpa’s film contrasts the gods and ghosts of Nepal’s religious tradition with life in modern Katmandu. When a happy family employs a shaman to ensure the birth of a son, their spiritual and secular lives begin to blur hauntingly into one. This film is in Nepalese with English subtitles and is part of the Spiritual Adventures: The Himalayas on Film series. Nepal / 2000 / 105 min.
The Horse Thief
Sunday, November 2, 2003, 2 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Set in Tibet’s remote frontier, Tian Zhuangzhuang’s nearly wordless cinematic poem about a horse thief expelled from his clan is a jaw-dropping visual spectacle of landscape and color steeped in Buddhist tradition and mysticism. This film is in Mandarin with English subtitles and is part of the Spiritual Adventures: The Himalayas on Film series. China / 1985 / 101 min.
Kundun
Friday, November 7, 2003, 7 p.m., Auditorium
Martin Scorsese’s beautiful, meditative film portrays the life of the fourteenth Dalai Lama as he grows from spoiled child into holy man. Produced with the cooperation of its subject and accompanied by a hypnotic musical score by Philip Glass, this is a deeply felt and visually exquisite tribute to Tibetan Buddhist tradition and one of the world’s most beloved spiritual leaders. This film is part of the Spiritual Adventures: The Himalayas on Film series. United States / 1997 / 128 min.
PERFORMANCES
Chanting Ceremonies
Thursday, October 23, 2003, 12 p.m., Sackler, level 1
Saturday, October 25, 2003, 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Sackler, level 1
The monks of India’s Sera Jey Buddhist University inaugurate their three-day residency at the galleries with a forty-five-minute ceremony of chants devoted to the Medicine Buddha on October 23, followed by ceremonies on October 25 for Chenresig, the bodhisattva of compassion, at 10:30 a.m. and a concluding ceremony at 4 p.m. for Tara, the female Buddha invoked to overcome fear and obstacles. Seating is limited. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
Thangka Painting
Friday, October 24, 2003, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Sackler classroom
See a Tibetan artist create a thangka — a Buddhist religious painting used in meditation — and then attend a question-and-answer session about Buddhist iconography and the materials used in thangka painting. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
Butter Sculpture
Friday, October 24, 2003, 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Sackler, level 1
Friday, October 24, 2003, 1–4 p.m., Sackler, level 1
Saturday, October 25, 2003, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m., Sackler, level 1
Watch as a Tibetan Buddhist monk creates a sculpture out of colored butter. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
Prayers on the Wind
Saturday, October 25, 2003, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Sackler classroom
Observe Tibetan Buddhist monks use hand-carved wooden blocks to print prayer flags. After the demonstration, participants make their own flags to take home. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
Tibetan Buddhist Debate
Friday, October 24, 2003, 12 p.m., Sackler, level 1
Saturday, October 25, 2003, 3 p.m., Sackler, level 1
Observe this theatrical form of philosophical dialogue used in Tibetan Buddhist training to hone the monks’ analytical skills and test their knowledge of doctrine. The debates are forty-five minutes long, and translation is provided. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
Himalayan Dances
Saturday, October 25, 2003, 12:30 p.m., Freer steps (rain location: Meyer Auditorium)
Enjoy four dances from Nepalese and Tibetan culture. Representing Tibet, the monks of the Sera Jey Monastery perform dances of the yak, the camel of the Himalayas, and the snow lion, the symbol of an enlightened mind and of Tibetan identity. Representing Nepal, dancer Bhim Dahal performs the masked dance Lakhe, depicting the king of the demons, as well as the legend of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom who cleared the Kathmandu Valley with a single swipe of his sword. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
TALK
Robert Thurman — Windows on the Buddha-World: The Enlightenment Aesthetic in Tibetan Art
Thursday, November 6, 2003, 7 p.m., Meyer Auditorium
Learn about the role of art within Tibetan Buddhism with Tenzin Robert Thurman, America’s foremost scholar of Buddhism and cofounder of Tibet House New York, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture on behalf of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This program is held in conjunction with the Sackler exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.
