The Missing Peace Artists Consider the Dalai Lama

While at the Rubin, I saw The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama

How do artists interpret the Dalai Lama? In 2004, when Randy Jayne Rosenberg was invited to curate the exhibition, she knew little about Buddhism and Tibet but understood the overarching vision: to portray His Holiness on a broad, universal platform.

Eighty artists from around the world tapped into their unique journeys and belief systems to create works showing how they perceive the Dalai Lama. The result is a tapestry of images, themes, and media that suggest the many roles the Dalai Lama plays within his world and ours: statesman, philosopher, politician, holy man, visionary, peacemaker, icon, and more.

The artists’ interpretations resonate with the great themes and ideals that the Dalai Lama embodies: the power of spirituality, the mystery of transcendence, universal interconnectedness, the need for peace. The exhibition begins with concrete concepts: the Dalai Lama’s appearance, religion, and homeland. It then circles outward into increasingly abstract and all-encompassing themes: human rights; compassion; the plight of people in exile; paths of transformation; universal responsibility; globalization; temporality; and impermanence.

Since my hands were occupied holding Mira, I couldn’t write down the names of the artists that I liked. But I found the following artworks very interesting.

The Shoes - This artist look a photograph of just the shoes that the Dalai Lama wears, she then transformed the image, by giving the shoes the aura of the Dalai Lama. So they were bathed in white light, and looked as if they were taking off. I found the aura image a very powerful representation of the image of the Dalai Lama worldwide.
Next to this image was the Dalai Lama’s signature Hawaii rubber chappals, which in India denotes, casualness, a lack of pretensions and one with the masses of people who cannot afford expensive shoes. The painting of the Dalai Lama’s feet in the chappals traversing the globe conveys an image of a saint.

Another interesting installation was by Laurie Anderson, titled talking to the therapist (?), where she had created two small miniature chairs, and then from a camera she was projecting herself talking in therapy. The textural and superimposition reality/unreality of the whole situation was quite interesting.

Another were eight or nine i-pods and there docs, showing videos of people talking about the Dalai Lama.

There was also a wonderful image by Richard Gere, of a profile in meditation.

And as I finished seeing the exhibit, I came across a quote on impermanence. Below is something similar that I found online By Thich Nhat Hanh.

The work of acknowledging everything in mindfulness leads us to a deeper view of what life is. It is very important to understand that impermanence is not a negative aspect of life. Impermanence is the very basis of life. If what exists were not impermanent, no life could continue. If a grain of corn were not impermanent, it could not become a corn plant. If a tiny child were not impermanent, she could not grow into an adult.Life is impermanent, but that does not mean it it not worth living. It is precisely because of its impermanence that we value life so dearly. Therefore we must know how to live each moment deeply and use it in a responsible way. If we are able to live the present moment completely, we will not feel regret later. We will know how to care for those who are close to us and know how to bring them happiness. When we accept that all things are impermanent, we will not be incapacitated by suffering when things decay and die. We can remain peaceful and content in the face of change, prosperity and decline, success and failure.

- The Blooming of a Lotus: Guided Meditation Exercises for Healing and Transformation (Thich Nhat Hanh)