Collin Weir

Lauer

HUMA 1302

December 16, 2012
<p align="center"><em>Into the Sacred City</em></p>
I visited the Blanton Museum’s <em>Into the Sacred City: Tibetan Buddhist Deities from the Theos Bernard Collection. </em>The exhibit displayed religious artwork from Tibet from a time that the culture was closed off to most of the world. I have a personal fascination with Buddhism and other eastern cultures and religions so this exhibit was an enlightening and educational experience.

In class we discussed the progression of globalization. Through technological advances and human travel, art has taught us about different cultures. The art displayed at the Blanton Museum’s <em>Into the Sacred City </em>exhibit is the collection of Theos Bernard. Bernard was the first westerner allowed into the Tibetan city of Lhasa. In 1937, he documented his spiritual journey and the Tibetan culture through photography and film. He was given the “thangkas” and “mandalas” shown in the exhibit and wrote books about his journey. As a result he helped globalize yoga and Tibetan culture to the West.

The exhibit made me realize the major difference of religious art of the West and the East.  For example, Leonardo de Vinci’s <em>Last Supper </em>was a realist interpretation of the event and is a significant piece of religious artwork in the West. The Tibetan artwork I saw was more of a dream-like transcendental scene. Not an image of the actual city, but complex scenery with deities and divine symbolisms. The artworks with these scenes are called “thangkas.” Thangkas are used during meditation in Tibetan Buddhism. I prefer the method of Eastern religious work because it aligns with my personal views on religion. Religion is not about one figurehead or one historical event; it is a state of mind.

My favorite artworks at the exhibit were the mandalas. At first glance they look like beautiful circle designs, but after reading the descriptions and looking more closing I saw the intricate detail and significance of the sacred circle. I learned that the making of the mandalas and the thangkas is not done with an artistic approach, but is a devotional act done with precise instructions. Each mandala represented a specific deity and is depicted through certain symbols. The importance of symbolism throughout the Tibetan artwork is very intriguing. Every hand position (<em>Mantra), </em>landscape, and object has a significance to the religion. The artwork is also anonymous. I think art should be guided by the vision of the artists and I prefer to not have guidelines to my artistic expression, but I commend the artist for their dedication and humbleness.