TIBETAN STUDIES IN DHARAMSALA SAMPLE RESEARCH PROPOSALS revised on-site in Dharamsala and submitted prior to conducting independent research

SAMPLE ONE: Tibetan Modern Art

This project will involve a study of Tibetan modern art in exile through research on both traditional and modern art forms and artists and through discussions with Tibetan artists living in exile. The main informants will be Tibetan modern artists living in McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala, and other Tibetan artists living outside of . This research will also include artists’ experiences inside and/or China, but the focus will be on Tibetan modern artists (born or living) in exile. To gain insight into the various perspectives on Tibetan modern art, I will attempt to speak with many different informants in the community. In order to understand the main differences and similarities between traditional and modern Tibetan art forms I will be interviewing painters as well as those who commission and those who sell Thangka paintings. I will interview Tibetans who have purchased Tibetan modern art, restaurant owners, and different members in the community who may or may not be interested in Tibetan art for religious or decorative purposes. I will also interview foreigners who have seen exhibitions of Tibetan modern artists, as well as those who have not to gain a current “outsider’s perspective” on Tibetan image-making.

Primary Research Sites: McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, New

Organizations: Institute, Contemporary Arts Section, Tangka Painting Section; IBD Sarah, Resident Artist: Sonam Dondhup; TIPA, Resident Artist: R. Wangchuk; Amnye Machen Institute, McLeod Ganj; CTA, Artists’ Studios and Residencies; Individual artists’ Studios in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, and possibly New Delhi; Dehradun Vocational Training Centre, Modern Arts Department (possibility)

Individuals: Tenzin Jamyang, McLeod Ganj (Moonpeak Gallery); R. Wangchuk, TIPA (ex- monk and Thangka painter turned modern); Sonam Lundup, CTA (studied in China and Tibet, one year refugee, opening exhibit in Delhi); Sonam Dondhup, IBD Sarah; Pekar, New Delhi (female sculptor)

Main issues/questions: How did Tibetan modern art evolve from traditional art forms? How does this reflect, contradict, reinforce, parallel, or conflict with modern influences and forces in the community (i.e. globalization, Western and foreign influences, living in India in exile, etc.) What is the goal of a Tibetan modern artist? What can Tibetan modern art say about Tibetans in exile? What is the subject matter of Tibetan modern art? Does Thangka painting influence Tibetan modern art and why or why not? What do the modern and traditional art forms have in common, how do they differ, is this the same for every artists or different? How can Tibetan modern art help or harm the community? How do outsiders perceive Tibetan modern art or Tibetan people through modern art? What are these stereotypes and how do modern artists deal with them? Is the Tibetan community receptive of modern art, why or why not? What will be the future for Tibetan modern artists and why is all of this important?

Methodologies: Interviews, photography, participant observation, library research, internet research, tape-recording, written questionnaires

Books/Resources: Amnye Machen Institute Artist Catalogs Clare Harris, In the Image of Tibet: Tibetan Painting after 1959 Tara Plochocki, “Modern Art as a Means of Identity Reformation in Tibet” Tawni Tidwell, Final Culture Paper for Emory U (Biography of Sonam Dondhup) Tashi Tsering, “An Introductory Discussion of Tibetan Women and Modern Art” Heather Stoddard, ed. Robbie Barnett, “Resistance and Reform in Tibet” Thierry Dodin and Heinz Rather, Imagining Tibet:Perceptions, Projections and Fantasies. Frank J. Korom, Constructing Tibetan Culture: Contemporary Perspective Glenn Mullin and Andy Weber, The Mystical Arts of Tibet David and Janice Jackson, Tibetan Tangka Painting: Methods and Materials Gladney Dru, “Representing Nationality in China: Refiguring Majority/Minority Identities” in Journal of Asian Studies Barmè, Geremie. In the Red. Danto, Arthur. “The Artworld” Journal of Philosophy Upton Janet, “Home on Grasslands?: Tradition, Modernity and Negotiation of Identity by Tibetan Intellectuals in the PRC,” Negotiating Ethnic Identities in China and Taiwan.