Barre Center for Buddhist Studies

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Putting Art-Making Back on the Map II: Dharma and Art Symposium at BCBS

Article
Erica Pittman
2017

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Center – dhammacakka, lithograph by Julie Püttgen

This month Insight Journal offers three more presentations from BCBS’ Spring 2016 Dharma and Arts Symposium (earlier presentations are available in last month’s issue).

Art as a Support for and Instrument of Buddhist Practice

By way of examining historical and contemporary examples of Buddhist art-making, each of this month’s three presentations engages with the question of the relationship between imagination, artistic expression and dharma practice.

David McMahon’s “The Buddhist Imagination” explores visionary Mahayana literature as examples of a Buddhist understanding of imagination as a tool for understanding along the path. Rather than prioritizing notions of “things as they are” as most Early Buddhist philosophy seems to do, McMahon reads these works as pointing to the necessity of “imagin[ing] our way into truths that are not immediately apparent”. With the emergence of writing, he points out, arose the possibility of fantastic literary illustration, such as that in the Gandavyuha Sutra, whose elaborate imagery depicts a world “deeper and richer than our usual state of mind allows us to see”.

William Edelglass’ presentation on “Historical and Textual Contexts for Dharma and Art” posits that “images can give us as much access to the truth as Buddhadharma can”. Beginning with a discussion of the bifurcated way artistic forms and Buddhist practice have traditionally been perceived in other cultures, he moves on to discuss the role of art in Tibet as a support for Vajrayana practice. Situating such forms as Thangka painting in the context of practice and distinguishing them from Western Kantian constructs that privilege notions of artistic originality and aesthetic genius, Edelglass traces a lineage of great dharma teachers who were also artists, and offers up a counter-reading in which art forms “achieve a union of this world and the world of the awakened mind that is imaginative union”.

Finally, Julie Püttgen offers up a more personal examination of these same questions in an exploration of her own unfolding art practice as an answer to the question “Why Does Expression Matter?”. Using multiple examples of her artistic installations, paintings, prints and other works, Püttgen’s presentation offers up a multi-faceted answer to the question. Through presentation and story-telling she examines artistic expression as a reminder of real and embodied presence of the world, as integrally related to embodiment, as an exploration of the ways in which our attention can be drawn, and ultimately as a form of co-created participation.

If you found this article helpful, please consider supporting the work of BCBS.

Insight Journal

2017

In this volume:

What About Neutral Feelings?

By Bhikkhu Anālayo

Article

2017 Vedana Conference

By Mu Soeng

Article

Putting Art-Making Back on the Map III: Dharma and Arts Symposium at BCBS

By Erica Pittman

Article

Putting Art-Making Back on the Map II: Dharma and Art Symposium at BCBS

By Erica Pittman

Article

Putting Art-Making Back on the Map I: Dharma and Arts Symposium at BCBS

By Erica Pittman

Article

Death Contemplation

By Bhikkhu Anālayo

Interview

The Nibbāna Interview

By Bhikkhu Anālayo

Interview

Diversity Assumptions, Implicit Values, and Seeking Refuge

By Lynette Monteiro

Interview

 

All issues:

See all Insight Journal issues

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  • Home
  • About Us
    • New and Notable
    • COVID-19 Safety Protocols
    • Mission and Values
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • Board of Directors
    • IMS
    • Staff
    • Job Openings
    • Getting to BCBS
    • Mailing List
    • Contact Us
  • Onsite Programs
    • Current Course Calendar
    • Everything You Need to Know About Residential Programs
    • Typical Residential Schedule
    • Continuing Education Credits
    • Financial Assistance
    • Teacher Dāna
  • Online Programs
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Wisdom Collaborations
    • Previously Offered Programs
    • Cancellation Policy
  • Path Programs
  • Teaching Faculty
  • Resources
    • Insight Journal
    • Bhikkhu Anālayo’s Offerings
    • The Daily Sit
    • Freely Offered Dharma
      • Events
      • Courses
    • BCBS Publishing
    • BCBS Bookstore
    • Access to Insight
    • Dharma Seed
    • Ways to Engage in Social Justice
  • Generosity
    • Donate
    • Recurring Donations
    • Planned Giving
    • Other Ways of Giving
    • Teacher Dāna
    • Volunteer