TIBETAN ART FOR THE VISIT OF H.H. THE DALAI LAMA

 by Hanneke v.d. Heuvel

AMSTERDAM – A new generation of Tibetan artists in The Netherlands is showing their art works from the 3th of June to the 6th of July 2009 in the Tibet Art Gallery Temple, in the heart of Amsterdam. The exhibition ‘Tibet Art Now’ is organized in celebration of the visit of H.H. the Dalai Lama in The Netherlands.
 
Tibet Art Now initiator and participating artist Tashi Norbu is a Tibetan refugee. "Tibetan art is not so easy, because one needs to know a thousand different gods and how to paint them. The intention, as it is in modern art, is not to work out your own ideas but to bring over ancient Buddhist wisdom. To see the picture on the canvas will remind you of your mental condition" says Tashi. One of the mental conditions is consciousness. “Look at my painting with white and black elephants. The white elephant at the top stands for consciousness. When someone for example is giving comments about our paintings, instead of being hurt, we could help the critic and show our own view. That is to be conscious in relation to others”, tells Tashi Norbu.
 
"We want to show the world that our culture is different from the Chinese one yet we want to cooperate with that great culture” explains Tashi. Art is an important part of the Tibetan tradition. Examples of traditional Buddhist art works are Thangka paintings. According to Tashi it could take months to finish such a painting. A couple of Tibetan painters are working on one painting, they start and finish with a ritual. They honor the mother of all Buddha’s: Green Tara. She stands for compassion and enlightened activity. Sometimes, Tashi and his young colleagues practice Tibetan rituals in public.
 
Art as means of communication
Tashi Norbu hopes to reach a big audience, including Chinese people. There are a lot of Tibetan monks who practice their religion and culture in Europe; Tashi Norbu pratices Buddhism as well, as a lay practitioner. It is not his intention to use art as political art to fight against the Chinese invaders; he wants to create a better understanding and a better way of communicating through art. "We accept the Chinese occupation of the autonomous region Tibet, but let us practice our tradition there. Our goal is to preserve and develop our own Tibetan culture."
 
Tibetan art in a modern world
Tashi Norbu would like to invite Tibetan traditional painters to use modern techniques, like for example the ones used in abstract art. He would combine traditional and modern fine art. The Tibetan artist hopes that more and people in the world will get to know Tibetan art. "I’d like to see our Tibetan art in a modern museum like Tate Modern in London, rather then in a national (tribal) museum", states Tashi Norbu. He would like to add Tibetan art to the modern world. "Through art, we want to let the world know about Tibetan art and culture".