“DESIRE. DESTRUCTION. TRANSCENDENCE.”

The Walters Art Museum presents the contemporary works of Amita Bhatt in dialog with tantric art from the John and Berthe Ford Collection.

The Walters Art Museum is proud to present selected works from the John and Berthe Ford collection of traditional Indian and Himalayan art in visual dialogue with contemporary paintings by India born artist, Amita Bhatt. Bhatt derives her imagery from Hindu and Buddhist Tantric sources infused with her understanding of Western philosophy. She explores classic themes of desire, conflict, struggle and transcendence as they manifest themselves in the present day. This thought provoking installation recognizes the power of visual expressions to articulate, to mobilize, to activate, and to provoke. Informed by tradition but speaking in the present, Bhatt’s works explore fundamental struggles and eternal tensions common to all cultures. The show will run from October 31st through December 13th, 2009.

Walters Art Museum, 600 N Charles St.,
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Phone: 410-547-9000 Email: info@thewalters.org

The Chinese Government & Google Blogs

The Chinese Government and Google have a dispute over which news feeds Google provides over its internet Blog service. Subsequently Google Blogs, which the HAR website uses, are blocked in China.

There are too many people in China using the HAR site to have it hobbled by international politics. The HAR team has already come up with some ideas for changing the blog. One suggestion was to move to a Coldfusion blog application, completely stable and free. The only problem is we have to implement it. It is not exactly right out of the box. We will look at several different options before deciding on a remedy. This blog accessibility problem will be a priority for the next few weeks.

Wutaishan Mountain: Unidentified Manjushri Forms

There are two examples given below of unidentified forms of Manjushri. These are only two of many unidentified forms found on Wutaishan Mountain.

The first found in the Golden Temple, frequented by Chogyal Pagpa in the 13th century, has one face and two hands and rides atop a lion. What is unique about the form is the right hand holding an utpala stem and the left extended across the left knee with the left leg pendant.

The second form, found in a building in front and below the Golden Temple, is a very large sculpture with eleven faces and one thousand hands, seated in a Western style atop a lion. Is there a Sanskrit or a Tibetan source text for these two unique forms of Manjushri? Are the forms possibly of a Chinese origin and inspiration?

A Rare Form of Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava as Guru Dupung Zilnon (gu ru bdud dpung zil gnon) is possibly related to the Vajrakilaya practices of Longchenpa called Purba Dupung Zilnon (phurba bdud dpung zil gnon). Note the unique form of the posture with the right hand holding a vajra extended outward to the side in a gesture of blessing above the heads of demons. The left hand holds a purba peg extended outward to the side and pointing downward subduing the demons below.

This extremely fine painting can be dated stylistically to the early 19th century and created in a Kham-dri style similar to the Khampa Gar painters of that time. It is not clear from the inscription on the back of the brocade (top), or the iconographic subject on the front, if the painting is a single composition or part of a related series (set) of paintings. Although one other painting with a different iconographic subject but the same stylistic elements, brush strokes and colour palette has been identified.

Milarepa Life Story Paintings

Two more Milarepa life story paintings have come to light. These two paintings belong to the same set as HAR #66417 and are part of a nineteen painting set. The composition of these paintings is also the same as the famous Stockholm nineteen painting set. The two new images will be uploaded to the HAR site in the near future along with detail images of the inscriptions.

Milarepa: Another Image

The image here is a detail from a Drugpa Kagyu composition with Naropa as the large central figure and Marpa Chokyi Lodro in front. To the right side is a very small figure of Milarepa seated on a deerskin appearing to float on the water.

What is interesting about the form is the over-all relaxed posture, white clothing wrapped fully around the body and the right knee slightly raised with feet visible.

Is this Milarepa depiction related to, or derivative of, the Milarepa forms posted in previous news entries?

See the Two Previous Posts:
- Four Milarepa Paintings
- Four Milarepa Paintings and One Sculpture

Densatil Sculpture and the Capital Museum, Beijing, China

The Capital Museum houses one of the best collections of Densatil sculptures available. Densatil sculptures originate generally from the Densatil Monastery (or surrounding monasteries where the artists also worked) founded by Pagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo, one of the four principal students of Gampopa, in turn the student of Milarepa. Many of these sculptures, now in museums spread around the world, were used to decorate the stupa, or reliquary, containing the mortal remains of Pagmodrupa.

Densatil Resources:
Capital Museum, Beijing, China - website
Capital Museum sculpture on the HAR site
Densatil Page, HAR site
Beijing Quick Guide Outline

Golden Buddhas from Tibet, Reconstruction of the Façade of a Stupa from Densathil
History of the Drigung Kagyu with reference to Densatil

Densatil Images:
Images 1
Images 2
Images 3
Images 4