Exhibition of Tibetan Art and Culture in Colombia, South America
Sunday, 9 November 2008, 11:00 a.m.
New York: Tibetan Buddhist monks from Namgyal Monastery, a personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, will provide a rare glimpse of the Tibetan art of a Sand Mandala to the Colombians in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, from 7 to 14 November.
The exhibition, jointly organized by the National University of Colombia and the Artists Cooperative in collaboration with the Office of Tibet in New York, will take place at the Javeriana University, a private Catholic University founded in 1623 and one of the premier academic institutions in Colombia.
In conjunction with the construction of the Sand Mandala, the event at the Javeriana University will also include exhibition of the photos on Tibet and Tibetan people and screening of video films on Tibet.
From all the artistic traditions of tantric Buddhism, the art of colourful sand painting ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks to form the circular image, known as Mandala.
A mandala is an imaginary palace that is contemplated during meditation. Each object in the palace has significance, representing some aspect of wisdom or reminding the practitioner of meditation of some guiding principle. Tradition dictates the shapes, sizes and colors of these objects. There are many different mandalas, each with different lessons to teach. Most mandalas contain a host of deities as well as inanimate objects.
Mandalas are usually displayed in two dimensions, and are commonly made from paper textiles, and coloured sand. In a sand painting, the sand is dyed and then carefully placed on a large, flat table. The construction process takes several days, and the mandala is destroyed shortly after its completion. The three dimensional mandala is projected in a unique way that displays the interior as well as the walls of the palace. The deities are represented as Sanskrit characters.
This is the first time that this unique Tibetan art is exhibited in Colombia. Along with the exhibition of the sand mandala by two Buddhist monks, a pair of Tibetan and Chinese photographers will tell the story of the Tibetan people through their collection of photos.
Sonam Zoksang, a Tibetan photographer based in New York City, will tell the story of his homeland through his rich collection of photos. He has carefully documented Tibetans and their life, both in and out of Tibet over the past many years. Zoksang's photos have been widely published in books, magazines, and newspapers, and are widely exhibited.
Jianglin Li, a Chinese writer based in New York, will tell the story of the Tibetans in Exile, particularly those in Dharamsala, the headquarters of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan establishment in exile, through her recently documented photos.
In addition, the organizers of the event will show a series of video films on Tibet, which among others include, Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Little Buddha", Martin Wassell's "Heart of Tibet", Discovery Channel's "Mustang: The Hidden Kingdom", Matthieu Ricard and Vivian Kurz's "The Spirit of Tibet: The Life and World of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Eric Valli's "Himalaya", Khyentse Norbu's "The Cup", and PBS Frontline's "The Red Flag Over Tibet".
Earlier, the Office of the Bogotá City Mayor's department of Culture, Recreation and Sport has committed to sponsor the event including a Tibetan musician’s concert and decided to organize the event at well reputed Museum of Bogotá. Unfortunately, due to enormous pressure put on by the Chinese Embassy, the Mayor's Office was compelled to withdraw their support to the event at the last minute and the venue of the event has to be shifted too.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Mandala en Colombia
A mediados de Noviembre de 2008 en la Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad Javeriana se realizó un MANDALA (Wheel of Compassion).
Monjes directamente del Tibet vinieron a Bogotá, Colombia para su hechura la que tardó 6 días.
Este blog fue creado para hacer público el registro fotográfico y en video de la realización.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)