The Rubin Museum of Art is having its 'members opening' tonight, along with invited guests, for the new Tibetan Contemporary Exhibition. This is a perk for members of the museum. For the general public the show opens tomorrow at 11:00.
Why do I care? Well, I have many issues with how Himalayan and Tibetan art is presented and understood in the West and I believe that by also looking at - what is called - Tibetan contemporary art there can be an actual dialogue about art, both old and new. Generally, almost always, any discussion of Tibetan art centers on iconography and religion, or Tibetan-Chinese politics. There is very rarely any discussion about the art itself, the aesthetics, the uniqueness of Tibetan art, brush stroke and colour, let alone the poor forgotten artist that is completely free of ego yet always told what to do by a Lama. Alas, the poor artist, ignorant of what he is doing, yet humble and egoless. That is the traditional Western model of a good Tibetan Artist.
The fact that people still believe this old tired religious model of Tibetan art, teach it and publish it in art & gallery catalogues is amazing yet sad. All of this must change! The field of Himalayan and Tibetan Art History must move into the 20th and 21st century and begin to look at art the same way that art from other great art producing cultures is looked at - uniqueness, beauty, harmony, technique, and aesthetics - not just from a narrow one sided religious perspective. All of this must change.
For those of you in New York the after party to celebrate Pema's first museum exhibition will be at Merchant's around the corner from the RMA at 8:00 in the downstairs room (with the fireplace).
