Playing Mirror
Lhasa supports a small community of contemporary painters, and I had
the opportunity to visit a few of them and see one of the galleries at
which they display their work. The artists are remarkably diverse:
Chinese, Tibetan, Chinese-Tibetan mix, atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, men
and women. Each artist's work is surprisingly unique in style,
distinctive in technique, color, subject matter. Yet a singular theme
runs through it all, that of aggressive change, the coming of
modernity in a high, traditional culture, and the rough merging of
Chinese and Tibetan lives on the high Plateau.
Several of the artists were trained as thangka painters, the
traditional depictions of Buddhist figures and iconography -- sacred
art. Their free-form work is often inspired by this age old style,
though quite a departure from it. One artist, Gade, is known for his
iconographic style of showing contemporary culture, in an old style:
antiqued canvases, earthy tones, thangka-like composition, but Mickey
Mouse as a Buddha-figure, the Incredible Hulk as protector deity. His
vision for his work is to be a mirror of the vast changes of the
culture here.
Other artists depart completely from the traditional Tibetan religious
artistic style. Abstract, impressionistic, surrealistic styles
abound, though the work remains distinctively Tibetan. The subjects
are nomads, pilgrims, iconographic places such as the Potala Palace or
momentous events such as the coming of the Chinese railroad.
There is no Shangri-La depicted in these paintings. They are edgy,
they make the viewer uncomfortable, needing to think about and process
the emotion, motivation, and subjects. Folk subjects clash with
modern objects, expressing the speed and pain of this quickly changing
society.
This is no underground group of beatnik poets; many are savvy, famous,
wealthy artists. Their work, though provocative, is often
well-received around Tibet, mainland China, and the rest of the world.
Some receive criticism for riffing on traditional, sacred styles.
Some are not well-understood, or are young in their careers. Still, I
see their work as a valuable personal catharsis and important
representation of this world, that is changing so quickly that most
people can't even keep abreast of all that is new. Some of it is
displayed at asianart.com. I highly recommend checking it out.
