Tibetan Art

Tibet - the land of the Buddha and Dalai Lama, a land also tormented by dogmatic political views. There is much about this ‘roof of the world’ that is not known to the outside world, and that is also true of its art. Tibetan art owes a lot to the influences from its neighbours, especially India. Primarily, Tibetan art comprises of Thangka paintings and also sculptures.

Thangka paintings have derived their name from the word ‘thang’ meaning flat. They are paintings done on a flat surface which can be easily rolled. They were mainly used by the Tibetan priests during religious ceremonies and then these ‘scroll’ paintings would be rolled and kept away. The paintings have religious themes, based on the various aspects of Buddhism – the lives of the Buddha, the stories associated with important Lamas and other myths. They also serve as meditational tools. A popular subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment).

Thangkas are rendered on cotton or silk with water soluble pigments, both mineral and organic, tempered with a herb and glue solution, similar to the ‘distemper’ technique used in Western art. There are some Thangkas which were also created using appliqué work and embroidery, but these are usually much larger works (some almost 60 feet which are used on religious occasions or festivals). The most common shape of a Thangka is the upright rectangular form.

The art has a scientific basis; the figures, symbols etc are all as per geometric specifications. The use of the religious symbols in the right context requires in-depth knowledge of the scriptures by the artist. Thus, Thangkas are known for their iconographic content which convey a scientific arrangement of content, colour and proportion, all of which follow a prescribed set of rules.

Since the artists own creativity and intent is not present in the work and, at times, more than one artist may have been involved in its creation, thangka painters remain anonymous and never sign the works.  On extremely rare occasion, a Buddhist teacher may create or design a thangka to express his own thoughts and insight for the benefits of his students, this work then may bear the signature of the artist, but it may just be hidden somewhere in the work and not readily identified.

Tibetan sculptures are created in wood or metal, mainly bronze. Bronzes are usually made by the ‘lost wax process’, where a wax image is created, then coated with a clay based mould which is subsequently baked allowing the wax to melt and drain away, replacing it with molten metal. The finished image is often then gilded and sometime inlaid with precious and semi precious stones like turquoise and coral. The sculptural style was greatly influenced by Indian and Nepalese styles.  Interestingly, the Tibetan sculpture of the Buddha, while being less refined than the Indian rendition, tends to focus more on spiritual content than physical. The themes of the sculptures too tend to be oriented towards the religious. Different poses of the Buddha, mahasiddhas (priests) and yoginis (priestesses) dominate. Some also feature the deities of the Tibetan mythology. Each sculpture is normally displayed on a specially carved pedestal giving the impression of being installed in a ‘mini-temple.’

The subject matter of almost every Tibetan sculpture is of a religious nature and predominantly Buddhist. The pre-Buddhist Bön religion has always had a presence in Tibet, but sculpture depicting their pantheon is comparatively uncommon. Secular sculpture is virtually unknown save for massive ninth-century stone lions marking royal tombs. The early Tibetan Buddhist kings are themselves deified, with their portraits enshrined alongside Buddhas, bodhisattvas and protector deities. It was Buddhism that prevailed in Tibet from the turn of the eleventh century and there was no call for secular art. Buddhist symbolism is everywhere and Buddhist statues abound, from private altars in town houses to devotional images in the tents of nomadic yak herders, to the ranks of bronzes in temple collections. It is an act of merit to commission a Buddhist image and Tibetans did so with enthusiasm for centuries, filling their temples with statues.

Both Thangka paintings and Tibetan sculptures are available with bCA Galleries.

The other forms of Tibetan arts are traditional arts like creating mandalas (a bit similar to the Indian floor paintings called ‘rangoli’ which are made using crushed coloured chalk) which are painstakingly constructed over many days from different coloured grains of sand before being swept away at the end of the ceremony. Another ceremonial art form are the butter sculptures which are constructed on frames of wood and leather, to which are applied barley flour and butter dough which are then painted. They are then painted. Some of these sculptures may be as tall as three storeys! These too are destroyed at the end of the ceremony to symbolise that even the things that we cherish the most are illusionary.

In Dharamsala, the place in India where the Dalai Lama and other Tibetans have found refuge, the Centre for Tibetan Art and Crafts was established in 1977 under the auspices of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Charitable Trust. Its primary purpose is not only to preserve essential areas of the endangered Tibetan culture but to inspire fresh enthusiasm and creativity in Tibetan artistic expression. Selection of students is made on the basis of both aptitude and economic background with priority given to those applicants who are particularly needy. Most of the crafts produced are exported through the offices of the Charitable Trust. There is also the Thangde Gatsal Studio, run by Sarika Singh and her husband, master painter Lobsang Choegyal, who train artists in this age-old art and even offer a short course of a month’s duration to foreigners. These dying arts need to be further popularised to preserve a unique artistic tradition.

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