Museums Embrace Art Therapy Techniques for Unsettled Times

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Zachary Small

A 16th-century cloth painting of the Buddha meditating, one of many artworks suitable for self-contemplation at the Rubin Museum of Art. Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation

When the instructor asked him to describe his life in two words, Walter Enriquez chose carefully: fear and violence. He had spent decades as a policeman in Peru during the bloodiest days of armed conflict between government forces and guerrilla fighters that killed nearly 70,000 people. But he said that nothing could have prepared him for the extreme isolation and loneliness that come with quarantine. Having lost a handful of his friends and neighbors to the coronavirus pandemic, the 75-year-old retiree has turned toward art therapy programs offered by the Queens Museum to improve his mental health. [More]

Breaking Glass and Gloomy Skies Inspire This Artist

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ted Loos

“Liquid Sunshine/I am a Pluviophile,” a commission for the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, is the best-known work of Rui Sasaki. It is made of more than 200 raindrop-shape pieces of phosphorescent glass. Yasushi Ichikawa/Corning Museum of Glass

Artists and designers who work with ceramics and glass might be thought of as delicate types. After all, they specialize in works that can easily break. But the converse tends to be true. It requires steady-handed bravery to blow glass or fire up a kiln, given the melting, explosions and shattering that are a normal part of the process. Rui Sasaki fits this counterintuitive mold. She is soft-spoken but extremely dogged in her exploration of a tricky medium on a large scale, as with what is perhaps her best-known work, “Liquid Sunshine/I am a Pluviophile,” a commission for the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., which was on long-term view until January and is now part of the museum’s collection. [More]

Ai Weiwei Is Selling Artful Face Masks to Raise Funds for Covid-19 Relief Efforts

ARTNEWS
By Claire Selvin

Masks designed by Ai Weiwe: Single masks cost $50, a series of four is valued at $300, and a collection of 20 is priced at $1,500. COURTESY AI WEIWEI STUDIO

Ai Weiwei, never one to shy away from getting involved in an activist cause, has turned his efforts toward supporting pandemic-related relief. In a new initiative launched as a collaboration with eBay, the artist and activist is selling limited-edition protective masks created in his studio in Berlin. All proceeds from the sales will go to Human Rights Watch, Refugees International, and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. The mask artworks became available on Thursday and sales will continue through June 27. The cloth masks in the sale feature silk-screened images designed by Ai, including a middle finger, sunflower seeds, and feishu, a creature in Chinese mythology. [More]

Ai Weiwei Designs Masks With a Message

THE NEW YORK TIMES 
By Sophie Haigney

Although the distribution is digital, it’s also a rare chance to see Mr. Ai’s work in person right now, said Alexandra Munroe, a curator at the Guggenheim who collaborated on the masks with Mr. Ai as an independent project. 

One mask depicts a middle finger, stuck defiantly upward, silk-screened in black ink on a blue background. Others feature sunflower seeds, a surveillance camera or creatures from ancient Chinese mythology. All these masks are works by the artist and dissident Ai Weiwei. The assortment of masks, made of nonsurgical cloth, will be sold on eBay for Charity, from Thursday until June 27, to raise funds for humanitarian and emergency relief efforts around the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Ai said that the idea came to him late one night; he’s been working across time zones, with a team in Wuhan, on a documentary about Covid-19. “I wanted to do something,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “I didn’t want to just be sitting there and waiting for the time to pass.” [More]

His Image is So Commonplace, But How Did the Buddha Get His Face?

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Aatish TaseeR

A 19th-century Burmese illustration on parchment paper depicting the Buddha seated in padmasana, or lotus position.

For the first six centuries after his death, the Buddha was never depicted in human form. He was only ever represented aniconically by a sacred synecdoche — his footprints, for example; or a parasol. How did the image of the Buddha enter the world of men? “In the omission of the figure of the Buddha,” writes Coomaraswamy, “the Early Buddhist art is truly Buddhist: For the rest, it is an art about Buddhism, rather than Buddhist art.” It begins with the Kushans, descendants of pastoral nomads who emerged like a wind out of the Eastern steppe around the second century B.C. They were heirs to a dazzling hybridity, which included the first ever confluence of Greece, China, Persia and India. [More]

The Rubin Museum Is Using Its Buddhist Art Collection to Offer Daily Meditation Sessions

ARTNET NEWS
By Katie White

Have you been wishing lately that you’d actually taken up meditation instead of just thinking about it all those years? We’re feeling it too—as well as the anxious tension in our chests, the funky sleep patterns, and, yes, the sheer boredom of staring at the same four walls for yet another day. When you also remember that all the art you so dearly love is stowed away inside shuttered art museums, galleries, and studios, it makes you just want to cry. But despair not! The Rubin Museum of Art is here to help you stay centered (even while it’s closed) with a recently launched series titled the Daily Offering. An informative, 10-minute episode is posted on the museum’s Instagram page every Thursday through Monday (the days the museum would have been open). [More]

Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s Art Brings People In Touch With Lost Ancestors

ARTNEWS
By Harley Wong

Tuan Andrew Nguyen, A Lotus in a Sea of Fire, 2020. ©2020 TUAN ANDREW NGUYEN/COURTESY THE ARTIST AND JAMES COHAN GALLERY

In Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s latest work, The Boat People (2020), a group of children search for objects left over from the ruins of human civilization. Led by a young girl, who we learn is the last woman on earth, the children call themselves the boat people, referring to their mode of transportation and reclaiming the derogatory term describing refugees who fled Vietnam by sea following the end of the American war in Vietnam in 1975. As the last survivors of the human race, the phrase becomes one of pride. To seek the stories of their ancestors, the children meticulously create wooden replicas of the objects they encounter—and eventually burn them, releasing their ashes into the ocean in a ritual unknowable to the viewer. [More]

Bodhisattvas – Selfless Saviors of Mahayana Buddhism

ANCIENT ORIGINS

A Bhutanese painted thangka of the Jatakas, conveys the stories of Buddha’s past lives. (Levels / Public Domain )

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva, in its most general sense, refers to a person who is on his/her way to becoming a buddha. More specifically, bodhisattvas are savior-like beings who forsake their own Buddhahood in order to help all creatures attain enlightenment. In addition, the bodhisattvas are believed to protect their devotees from all manner of harm. This concept of a bodhisattva is held especially in Mahayana Buddhism, one of the two major branches of Buddhism (the other being Theravada Buddhism). Due to their role as saviors, bodhisattvas have been highly revered in various Buddhist-dominated cultures. Countries where bodhisattvas are venerated include China, Japan, and Tibet. The list of major bodhisattvas varies depending on local tradition. What is a Bodhisattva? ‘Bodhisattva’ is a Sanskrit word that may be translated to mean ‘awakened truth’, ‘enlightenment being’, or ‘one whose goal is awakening’. [More]

Famous Shoe Designer Christian Louboutin Explores World's Treasures

CNN
By Christian Louboutin

Standing bodhisattva, 1st to 3rd centuries. Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet Credit: Thierry Ollivier / RMN-GP

Christian Louboutin is CNN Style's new guest editor. He's commissioned a series of stories on the topic of "Journeys. Below are excerpts from 'Christian Louboutin, the Exhibition(ist)' published by Rizzoli: "The Greek Macedonian sculptors who were with Alexander the Great looked at this Indo-Buddhist statuary, which was already very accomplished, and were fascinated. And from that, the Macedonian sculptors would derive nourishment and inspiration from this local statuary, so that in this area there was a marriage of Hellenistic art and Indo-Buddhist art that produced a type of Indo-Hellenistic statuary that's known today as Gandhāran art." [More]

IUPUI's Herron School Postpones Opening of Tsherin Sherpa's Show

IU NEWSROOM

Tsherin Sherpa, "Spirits (Metamorphosis)," 2019. Acrylic on canvas, 49 1/2 inches by 83 1/2 inches. Image courtesy of Tsherin Sherpa

Originally scheduled to open March 11, the IUPUI Herron School of Art and Design postponed the opening of "Metamorphosis: Recent Painting and Sculpture by Tsherin Sherpa," the first of a new annual exhibition series dedicated to contemporary international art and artists. Tsherin Sherpa, a Nepalese artist of Tibetan descent, has studied traditional thangka painting since the age of 12. Today, his work merges Western popular culture and classical Buddhist iconography to investigate the dichotomy found where sacred and secular traditions and worlds collide. [More]

An Artist Whose Buddhist and Painting Practices Converge

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Osman Can Yerebakan

The artist Leidy Churchman in their Brooklyn studio with their work “Kishkindha Forest (Jodhpur)” (2020). Jacob Pritchard

Tucked at the end of an unassuming alley in Red Hook, Brooklyn, amid 19th-century red brick houses originally built to accommodate fishermen, Leidy Churchman’s studio feels like a refuge — a minimalist retreat that exudes the kind of tranquillity found in the artist’s meditative paintings. Churchman, 40, is known for their contemplative, detailed explorations of a broad array of themes relating to memory, pop culture and art history. If they have a signature, it is perhaps the diversity of their subject matter, which has included exotic animals, Tibetan Buddhism, maps, online videos, paintings by other artists, from the French Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau to the American Modernist Marsden Hartley, and book covers. [More]

NOMA Presents “Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Masterworks from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection at Asia Society”

NEW ORLEANS.COM

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Masterworks from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection at Asia Society, on view March 13 through June 7. Presenting nearly seventy of the finest examples of Asian art in the United States, Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon showcases the broad range of bronzes, ceramics, and metalwork assembled by John D. Rockefeller 3rd (1906–1978) and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller (1909–1992) between the 1940s and the 1970s. With highlights including Chinese vases, Indian Chola bronzes, and Southeast Asian sculptures, the collection reveals great achievements in Asian art spanning more than two millennia. [More]

Chinese Fashion Designer Sparks Outrage After 'Appropriating' Sacred Tibetan Art

NET SHARK

Celebrated Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei has sparked controversy online for using sacred Tibetan art in her recent fashion collection.

The renowned couturier shared images of her Guo Pei Spring/Summer 2020 Couture Collection on Instagram, where many called her out for disrespecting Tibetan culture and religion. In Tibetan culture, a Thangka is a Tibetan Buddhist painting, commonly depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala, on cotton or silk. Traditionally, Thangkas are used for worship and then kept unframed and rolled up when not on display. Since selling of religious artifacts is frowned upon in the Tibetan community, Tibetans usually do not sell Thangkas. According to a Tibetan source, Thangka is meant to be hung up on a wall or placed beside the altar for worship and not intended to be worn, especially at a fashion show. [More]

Dedication Materials in Buddhist Image on View at Smithsonian

KOREA TIMES

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Ven. Gyeongam demonstrates the Korean "bulbokjang," or dedicating sacred materials to Buddhist image, ritual at Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC on Feb. 22. / Courtesy of the Preservation Society of the Traditional Bulbokjang Ceremony

A gilded wooden statue of "Gwaneum," the bodhisattva of compassion and mercy crafted during 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom, and its sacred devotional materials are on view at the "Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece" exhibition at the Smithsonian's Freer|Sackler, giving a glimpse into Korea's "Bulbokjang" (dedication of materials in Buddhist statues) tradition. The Bulbokjang ritual, or the Buddhist image consecration ritual, refers to a religious ceremony of installing dedication materials into the hollow cavity of a Buddhist sculpture, transforming the material image into a divine being for religious worship.[More]

"Death Is Not The End" Exhibition to Open at The Rubin Museum of Art

BROADWAY WORLD

The Rubin Museum of Art will present "Death Is Not the End," a new exhibition opening September 18 that explores notions of death and the afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity. Featuring prints, oil paintings, bone ornaments, thangka paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, and ritual items, "Death Is Not the End" invites contemplation on the universal human condition of impermanence and the desire to continue to exist. "Death Is Not the End" is part of the Rubin Museum's yearlong thematic exploration of impermanence, a fundamental principle in Buddhist philosophy, and will be on view from September 18, 2020, to February 8, 2021. [More]

Art Review: Pat Lay at the Dvora Pop-up Gallery

JERSEY CITY TIMES
By Tris McCall

“DM624161212” by Pat Lay

If you’ve ever had a computer spill its guts to you, you know what a shattering experience it can be. The surfaces of video cards and chipboards are great riddles in titanium, wire, and plastic. Dots and twisting parallel lines, bright colors and silent black rectangles: It’s all in there, hidden behind the screen you may be looking at right now. Run electricity through it, and the magic begins. But unless you’re an engineer, there’s very little chance that you understand the meanings of the markings on the chips and drives. They’re as inscrutable — and as beautiful — as hieroglyphics or cuneiform characters carved into rocks.Many visual artists have been struck by the accidental aesthetic of electronic components. Few, however, have taken that interest quite as far as Pat Lay. Visiting “Exquisite Logic,” her show at the Dvora Pop-up Gallery in the Powerhouse Arts District, is a bit like stepping into a mainframe. [More]

Devendra Banhart — Musician, Artist, Buddhist

TRICYCLE MAGAZINE
By Benjamin Bogin, Portraits by Celeste Sloman

Photograph by Celeste Sloman

"I feel like I’m wearing a mask made out of dead meat,” Devendra said, gesturing toward his face with outstretched fingers pulling down as if tugging at the mask with invisible strings. “Aren’t we all?” I asked. We were talking about the photoshoot Tricycle had arranged in New York, the previous stop on his tour, and I wondered if Devendra Banhart—musician, artist, poet, and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner—was echoing the sentiment of Milarepa’s famous line: “This thing we call a corpse, so fearful to behold, is already right here—our own body.” For Devendra the desire to practice arose from a growing recognition of the link between fixation on the self and unhappiness. [More]

The Artful Transformation of Human Suffering: Banksy and Buddhist Art | Buddhistdoor

BUDDHIST DOOR
By Guoying Stacy Zhang

Rage, the Flower Thrower by Banksy, Jerusalem. From the8percent.com

In the midst of widespread protests in Hong Kong in October 2019, the city was imbued with feelings of anxiety, fear, and anger. Fire, violence, and destruction were constantly shown on media platforms to a degree that even the most fainthearted would feel numb to the spectacle. Nevertheless, a couple of friends and I managed to cross the border between Hong Kong and mainland China and find ourselves in a nice bar in the city of Shenzhen. It was a breath of fresh air, away from the tear gas and rage. My friends and I soon noticed that this place had a special liking for the British street artist and political activist Banksy. This is where I find an analogy between Banksy’s work and Buddhist art. Both recognize human suffering yet they artistically transform the suffering to inspire. Behind the grandeur, composure, and gold of Buddhist art, there is heartbreak, loss, and grief. [More]

Japanese Folklore Through the Prism of a Warrior that Fights Buddhist Monks

MODERN TOKYO TIMES
By Lee Jay Walker

Taira no Tadamori (1096-1153) was a famous and notable samurai who was loyal to the Taira clan. In Japanese art and folklore, he is depicted favorably based on his many attributes that were so important in this period of Japanese history. Therefore, despite the passages of time, the legacy of Tadamori remains intact based on art, folklore, literature, and important historical documents. In the world of folklore and art Tadamori is deemed fearless beyond the norms of life. Hence, he didn’t flinch in the art of war, irrespective of natural clan fighting, fighting Buddhist warrior monks, or tackling pirates. Equally, in the mysterious world of Japanese folklore Tadamori did not fear the unseen world of sinister spirits and dangerous ghosts. [More]

Wake Up and Embark on a Journey that Will Change You…Forever, Says the Asian Art Museum

ARTFIX DAILY

Vajrabhairava, 1400–1500 or later. China. Wood with paint. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund, 93.13a–oo.

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco opens your eyes with Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment, featuring almost 100 vibrant paintings, sculptures, and textiles from hundreds of years ago to today. This New Year, the Asian Art Museum invites visitors to slow down, look hard, and “wake up” from the ordinary world. Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment, on view Jan. 17 – May 3, 2020, showcases how integral artistic endeavor is to Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practices, underscoring art’s power to focus and refine our awareness. [More]