Sacred Realms: Thangka by Shashi Dhoj Tulachan - Assignment Example

Sacred Realms: Thangka by Shashi Dhoj Tulachan From the Gayle and Edward P. Roski Collection Thangka is one of the SacredRealms: Temple Murals by Shashi Dhoj Tulachan, which comprise of nine oversized paintings with a religious theme. The 69-year-old monk did the paints from Tuksche in Nepal. Tulachan is a second-generation Thangka painter whose works are used for religious teachings. The artwork is characterized by comprehensive imagery comprising of mythologies, deities and repeated abstract designs. Tulachan deviated from the strict Thangka painting rules that advocate for precise shape and color and proportion (Tan 12). Instead, he incorporated conventional motifs with innovative imaginations to create a master artwork. The painting depict Buddha seated on his throne while stepping on a tiger that seems to drink water from the stream below. Buddha is holding a golden scepter in his right hand. The scepter has a shiny lamp at the top and a flowing red cloth. Above Buddha’s head, wavy lines are used to depict cloud movements in the blue sky. The sun is depicted on the left side of the painting while the moon and stars are on the right side. This symbolizes that Buddha controls both day and night. On the left side of the painting, there are green mountains and valleys with a flowing stream of water (Tulachan 1). Down the mountain, a half body of a horse and two men seems to be enjoying their bountiful harvest. The right side of the painting depicts flowing air and human figures. A stream of cool water flows beneath Buddha’s legs. The tiger seems to be drinking from the stream and blooming flowers and green plants manifest the importance of the water. The artist combined shades and tints of red, blue and yellow and complemented them with brown color. The sky and the waters below are blue, symbolizing calmness. The light blue clouds have red tails symbolizing their energetic and strong movement in the sky. Part of Buddha’s garment is blue, signifying loyalty, order and peace. Buddha’s garment parts, throne decoration, center of the sun, and lamp are red orange to symbolize his power and strength, and love and energy on humankind. The golden yellow color of Buddha’s face, hands, sun and the environs signify the promise of an affirmative, happiness and enlightenments. The green color symbolizes fertility while brown signifies protection, security and wealth. The painter made use of line to create shape and movement. Wavy lines are used to depict movement and create outlines. Curved lines are predominantly used in natural forms to depict grace, softness, joy and flexibility that come with nature. The natural environmental features have an abstract touch because they do not resemble those found in real life situations. The dominant use of curved lines and images create a visual soft texture. The red parts on Buddha’s garment have a visual rough texture created by the rounded images. Similarly, the curved edges on the throne create a rough texture when touched The repetition of curved lines and images throughout the painting creates unity and harmony. The artists successfully implemented perspective by creating a logical sense of distance between the images and details. The theme of the painting is maintained, hence creating harmony. The painting is well balanced whereby the focuses on the significant elements- Buddha while slowly shifting to the other pictorial elements, and their relation to the main theme. There is notable proportion among all the elements within the painting. The human figures are proportional while Buddha is significantly larger that all the other elements. The artist made Buddha the most dominant image by making him larger than all the other elements in the composition. Color blue and curved images dominate the image. The dominant elements contrast on scale and do not sacrifice the unity of the composition. The painting illustrates Buddha’s teachings through imagery. Buddhism advocates for self-reliance where man has to work to generate his own food. The left side of the painting illustrates two men rejoicing over their bountiful harvest. Another man further below seems to be enjoying the food he has harvested from his land. The green land and cool waters depict that thorough hard work, nature aids human being in achieving self-reliance. Water is a symbol of cleanliness and Buddhism and cool waters signify the purification of a person’s heart as advocated by Buddhist teachings. Buddhism advocates for harmlessness and compassion. The tiger and human beings live in harmony without hurting each other. The call for peaceful co existence between man and nature is depicted where the environment in the composition is clean and there is no pollution of any kind. Buddhism is a practical religion and all its teaching is manifested in a pictorial composition. The painting depicts the five powers of Buddhism spiritualism. Buddhism teaches that all people have the ability to succeed in life if they are confidence. From the painting, the two men on the left side must have worked hard in great confidence and are now enjoying the fruits of their hard work. The men are marrying over their pumper harvest. Buddhism advocates for effort where everyone is urged to take responsibility of his or her life and work. Everyone should make an effort to succeed as manifested by the men on the left side of the painting. Conversely, the man on the right side has nothing to celebrate about because he lacked confidence and did not put any effort in his work. Buddhism emphasizes the need for mindfulness, wisdom and concentration in all we do. The two men on the left of the composition were mindful about the actions they took when farming. The two men toiled on their land in great concentration, and wisdom, and can celebrate over their hard work. Conversely, the man on the right side of the painting failed to concentrate on his work. He was not wise and mindful with his actions, resulting in a failure. Works Cited Jing, Anning. The Yuan Buddhist Mural of the Paradise of Bhaisajyaguru. The Metropolitan Museum Journal, 26 (91991): 147-167. Tan, Vyonne. “ Art of The Orient.” Asian Art Newspapper, Feb. 2013. Web 25 Apr. 2015. Tulachan, Shashi Dhoj. Thangka- Sacred Realms: Temple Murals, n.d. Bowers Museum, Carlifonia. Web 25 Apr. 2015 Read More