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newsletter_id=546

Re-imagi(ni)ng the Buddha: The Multiplicity of

Authenticities in Contemporary Tibetan Art

Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa

AAA welcomes Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Assistant Professor of Tibetan Click to see more images
Cultural History at the University of Alabama, United States, as its guest
columnist...

The last couple of decades have seen an international explosion of interest

regarding contemporary art from the Tibetan Autonomous Region and other
Tibetan cultural areas that have been part of the People’s Republic of China
since 1959. Much of this art has been acclaimed for its depiction of the rapid Palden Weinreb, Level
changes in minority communities in modern China through the use of Discharge, 2006, graphite on
sophisticated imagery and allusions, and has been mined by interpreters and paper, 43 x 76 cm, courtesy
curators for its similarities and contrasts with modern art coming from Tibetan the artist.
exiles in India and the West.

An interesting and common theme in Tibetan contemporary art is that of

religious iconography — including celestial beings, Buddhas, and ritual
implements — being adapted to portray current themes and ideas of identity,
cultural preservation, globalization, and tensions with the perceived colonizers
Gade, Railway Train, 2006,
— the Chinese immigrants that represent the control of the Chinese state.
mixed media on Tibetan paper,
Many studies have looked at the political connotations of contemporary art in
60 x 130 cm, courtesy Peaceful
Tibet and its subversive undertones. Tibetan Buddhist icons are now
Wind Gallery, Sante Fe.
increasingly appearing in Chinese modern art as well, being used to express
completely different ideas about modern Chinese identity, and also feature in
western modern art often in a continuation of depictions of earlier Orientalist
ideas about Tibet.

However, an important aspect is often overlooked in the study of Tibetan

contemporary art: the traditional use of these symbols. Within this cacophony
of voices, there is not often heard the voice of those who originally made use
of these symbols — elite religious practitioners, ritual specialists and clerical
artists. While recent ethnographical studies [1] have explored these
communities, what interests me is their original motivation in making art —
that of artistic practice as a type of religious practice — which continues to be
practiced by non-traditional artists. Contemporary art that uses Tibetan
symbols often reinterprets them in accordance with the artist's own ideology,
or because of cultural and religious misunderstandings on the part of Ang Sang, The red decade,
outsiders. In the case of ethnically Tibetan artists, the incorporation of mixed media on cloth, courtesy
traditional religious motifs is articulated as a political statement, or as a Rossi+Rossi Gallery.
signifer of Tibetan identity. However, some artists consciously explain their
use of these symbols as being acts of spiritual practice. The use of traditional
symbols in a contemporary setting leads to interesting questions of
authenticity. This is particularly so since ‘traditional’ art — religious statues
(sku), painted scrolls (thang kha), and also painted furniture — has become a
valued commodity in the art world, with large artifact auctions taking place
regularly in major international auction houses. Traditional art is also not
without its controversy, since some pieces are believed to have been
un-ethically procurred through theft from monasteries within the Tibetan
cultural region, while others are fake. Forgeries have become difficult to
identify due to the highly developed skill of the artists who make them for the
international market. The Tibetan art world, like any art market, is based on
supply and demand, though often traditional forms of art are given

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precedence over contemporary art in representing an authentic Tibetan Ang Sang, Buddha vs. Train,
identity. 2006, mixed media, 100 x 100
cm, courtesy Peaceful Wind
In this context, the line between original and contemporary interpretations Gallery, Sante Fe.
becomes blurry; how can we establish which of these forms of art is more
'authentic'? There are various players in Tibet who each have their own
consumers to satisfy: the contemporary artists, the foreign curators, modern
Chinese artists, the tourist market, and the traditional creators and consumers
of this work — the religious elite. As Clare Harris has written, western (and
now it can be added Chinese) Tibeto-philes are often disturbed by Tibetan
modernist style, seeing it as ‘disconcertingly un-Tibetan’, since the use of
transnational technologies and methods transcend earlier stereotypes and
romanticism that depict Tibet as a otherworldly Shangri-la [2]. These
Gonkar Gyatso, Untitled
stereotypes can often see contemporary depictions of traditional motivations.
(detail), 2008, pencil and Indian
The interaction between groups of artists, curators, Tibetans, Chinese and
ink on treated paper, 122 x 152
other foreigners, and their use of overlapping themes, create a contested site
cm,courtesy Rossi+Rossi
of debate about the definition of authenticity in modern Tibet, as the ultimate
Gallery.
ownership of religious art in modern times, along with its medias and formats,
is negotiated in conversations that often echo social and political realities and
tensions.

Crucial to these negotiations are the various collectives of Tibetan artists that
exist both within the PRC and also abroad in exile. These different groups
often have distinct philosophies regarding their art. However, all of them
include artists who consciously use Buddhist themes and iconography to
convey very different concepts of identity, cultural preservation and
globalization. Interestingly, some contemporary artists originally studied
under a traditional Tibetan system of artisan apprenticeship (for example,
Karma Phunstok) before becoming a ‘contemporary artist’, while others have
chosen to do so as a means of developing their contemporary practice (for
example, Gonkar Gyatso).

Certainly, many contemporary artists do not associate their work with

Buddhism; some resist associations explicitly to avoid stereotypes of the
Shangri-La image of Tibet, whereas others such as the prominent artist Gade Gonkar Gyatso, One world and
(b. Lhasa, 1971) use Buddhist images in a playful way to explore many dreams, 2008, stickers,
contemporary issues in Tibet. papercut and pencil on treated
paper, 153 x 125 cm, courtesy
Others consciously identify their motivation in undertaking particular pieces as Rossi+Rossi Gallery.
being connected to their Buddhist faith and practice. The artists mentioned
below are individuals who use Buddhist terminology in describing their art,
and cite their motivations as being similar to traditional artisans — as a form
of meditation, or an offering. Artist statements often deflect attempts to
politicize their work through the incorporation of traditional forms of
vocabulary. Despite the fact that many of these artists grew up in the
environment of the Cultural Revolution, where religious was suppressed and
therefore have not had traditional religious education, many still strongly
self-identify as Buddhist and depict this identity in their work. Several
different artistic collectives reflect some of the different motivations of
contemporary Tibetan artists.
Tenzing Rigdol, com-passion,
Sweet Tea House 2007, pastel, watercolour,
scriptures and magazine
Sweet Tea originally started in Lhasa in the late 1980s with the intention of cuttings, 97 x 119 cm, courtesy
portraying and exploring contemporary Tibetan life through art, though was Rossi+Rossi Gallery.
short lived due to government interference[3]. However, one of its members,
Gonkar Gyatso (b. Lhasa, 1961) revived the name in 2003 when he opened a
gallery in London.

Gongkar Gyatso portrays some of the ambivalence felt among Tibetan artists
about the connection of Tibetan identity with Buddhism. In an interview, he
discussed how in traditional Tibetan art as well as in Maoist ideology the
‘assertion of individualism ... [is] outlawed.’ [4] Gyatso's incorporation in his
work of Buddhist motifs and the body of the Buddha, in particular, is used as a
signifer of Tibetan identity, as well as commenting on contemporary images
and political images surrounding Tibet.

Disney Plus 3 (2004), for example, includes an image of the Buddha along
with images of Mickey Mouse. Both of these images are instantly recognizable
as cultural markers, but the depiction of them together subverts expectations

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of their traditional uses.

Gedun Choephel Artists' Guild

The Gedun Choephel Artists' Guild is based in Lhasa, and artists from the
group often collaborate and exhibit in Gyatso's Sweet Tea House gallery. One
of its most prominent members, Gade, like Gyatso, has grown up without a
traditional Buddhist education. His work is a commentary on contemporary
Tibetan issues, and often incorporates traditional motifs to further a contrast
between Tibetan modernity and traditional culture.

Railway Train (2006) is an example of a piece that depicts this contrast.

Including images of traditional Tibet, such as monks and nomads, alongside
Coca-cola signs and the train that dominates the landscape, Gade's landscape
Nortse, White tablecloth –
subverts the dichotomy between tradition and modernity in an artistic
unbalanced state, 2008, mixed
commentary and comments on the changes that the newly constructed train
media on canvas, 150 x 135
line will bring to Tibet from the outside world.
cm, courtesy Rossi+Rossi
Mechak Gallery.

Mechak is a more recently formed initiative that encompasses other collectives Click to see more images
through the use of the internet and by including artists from within the PRC as
well as those in exile. The term ‘Mechak’ itself conveys the ideas of the group:
me (me) meaning fire and chak (lcags) meaning iron refers to a traditional
Tibetan iron-edged tool used for creating sparks. Mechak states that its
mission is to ‘ignite a renewal of Tibetan culture’ through the inclusion of
Tibetan artists from around the world. One of the group's intentions is to
explore new forms of expression while maintaining ‘a spiritual centre’. Indeed,
many of the artists involved, including one of the founders, Losang Gyatso,
use Buddhist imagery and explore Buddhist themes.

Ang Sang (b. Lhasa, 1962) is one artist who incorporates traditional themes,
particularly Buddhist ones, in his art. White Tara, a modern image of the
goddess Tara, is one example. In his artist statement Ang declares that,
‘Painting to Ang Sang is the Buddha Nature in his heart; his works express
faith and devotion. Through the exploration of the artistic language of Tibetan
spirituality, he tries to find common characteristics between ancient and
traditional Tibetan art and Western avant-garde art.’ [5]

Other young artists also incorporate Buddhist themes in their work, although
their subject matter may not appear as explicitly to be Buddhist.

Palden Weinreb (b. 1982, New York City) is such an example. Born and still
living in New York City, educated in a western artistic tradition, Palden's work
incorporates mixed media and also refers to Buddhism. In his artist
statement, he describes how, frustrated on one occasion, he began to recite
mantra (symbols recited as a form of spiritual practice), reached a meditative
state and found his pencil moving of its own accord. Fascinated by the results,
Palden continued to use this method, explaining that through doing so, ‘I
discovered a new sensibility in approach and aesthetics. I possessed a new
appreciation for the illusion and deception held within a mark, creating
ambiguous passages and environments ... There was a beauty and a depth in
the relation between systematic and unconscious patterns.’ [6]

Tibetan artists incorporate Buddhist motifs in their work for different reasons.
Some reflexively use them as signifiers of ‘Tibetan-ness’; others as social or
political commentaries. However, some artists have also consciously used
them in a manner similar to traditional artists: as a form of spiritual practice.

These motivations disrupt cleavages between tradition and modernity, since in

this space, the concept of ‘authentic’ Tibetan art, which is often only ascribed
to traditional, antique religious images, is confused. Contemporary Tibetan art
in all its diversity, but particularly in its depiction of Buddhism, lifts Tibetan
culture out of its stereotypes and into the realm of a vital, alive and changing
culture. Rather than inscribing Tibetan identity as being that of oppressed
victimhood or as a levitating hermit, Tibetan contemporary art suggests the
complexities of being Tibetan in a time of change. As Yangdon Dhondup has
written, ‘The issue of authenticity does not seem to torment the artists
themselves but more those who want to confine Tibetans into certain
constructed identities.’[7] When artists are broken free of those identities and
the different forces of colonialism and the market that enclose them, Tibetan

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contemporary art becomes a record not of a dying, insecure or suffering

culture, but instead a multi-faceted depiction of a vibrant culture infused with
continuity with the past, but not transfixed with that past. Tibetan
contemporary artists constantly renegotiate and re-inscribe Tibetan identity,
and the role of religious imagery furthers a sense of continuity which
ultimately deems all Tibetan art, particularly contemporary art but also art
created for tourist markets or curators, as eminently authentic, and
transcendent of any singular, hegemonizing discourse and concept of ‘Tibetan-
ness’.

1. Mark Stevenson, ‘Wheel of Time, Wheel of History: Cultural Change and Cultural
Production in an Amdo Tibetan Community’, unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of
Melbourne, Melbourne; & Mark Stevenson ‘Art and Life in a mdo Reb gong since 1978’, in
Amdo Tibetans in Transition: Society and Culture in the Post-Mao Era: PIATS 2000:
Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for
Tibetan Studies, Toni Huber (ed.), Brill, Leiden, 2002, pp 197-220.

2. Claire Harris, ‘The Buddha Goes Global: Some Thoughts Towards a Transnational Art
History’, in Art History, no. 29.4, September 2006, p. 712.

3. Ibid, p. 702.

4. Zaklina Petrovic, ‘Conversation with Gongkar Gyatso’, in Visions from Tibet: A Brief
Survey of Contemporary Painting, London, 2005, p. 14.

5. Ang Sang, http://www.sweetteahouse.co.uk/en/index.php?section=46

6. Palden Weinreb, ‘Bio’, http://www.paldenweinreb.com/bio.html

7.Yangdon Dhondup. ‘Some Thoughts on Contemporary Tibetan Art’,

http://www.mechak.org/some_thoughts_on_contemporary_tibetan_art.html

Websites:
http://www.sweetteahouse.co.uk
http://www.asianart.com/gendun/index.html
http://www.mechak.org/
http://www.paldenweinreb.com/main.htm
http://www.karmaart.com
http://ww.tibetanartinexile.com
http://www.rossirossi.com/
http://www.peacefulwind.com/gallery7/index.html#3

Editorial disclaimer - The opinions and views expressed in the Perspectives column do not
necessarily reflect those of the Asia Art Archive, staff, sponsors and partners.

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