$" $" "& !" #"%!" #" ! $ +&. +++/*."/+ $##$##! $!#"!#!#! "( %!"#( " Statement of Authorship "#""#"#!&"#!!!( # %!"#( ! ( #! "##$#* '# ( &( !$ !# $(&##""*##"#(& #! !%$"( $" ! &!## ( #! !" '# &! $ &#"##'###""*!"##""#( #!##!"(!#+ !( ( %!3127 Statement of Access "#""(%!#($# !&## + !( ( %!3127 Abstract My thesis examines the contemporary Tibetan art movement that has emerged not only in the Tibetan homeland but also amongst the Tibetan diaspora. As the movement spans temporal and spatial boundaries, national and geographical borders, it is appropriate to examine the movement in the context of globalisation. I argue that these contemporary Tibetan artists are re-claiming their identity: an identity which has been usurped, not only by the Chinese occupation of their homeland which resulted in suppression of Tibetan culture within Tibet and displacement of culture in case of the diaspora, but also by the pervasive Orientalist view of Tibet as an exotic Shangri-La, a remote and imaginary utopia. This identity emerges in a post-modern global era as one that draws on a sense of place and culture to reflect on issues that transcend the local and have a universal relevance. I examine the different ways in which the artists, in both their homeland and in exile, negotiate their modern Tibetan identity, and how this is expressed in their art. Works of contemporary Tibetan art often involve the deconstruction and reconfiguration of Tibetan Buddhist iconography. They challenge art audiences to confront the stereotypes and assumptions of Tibetan culture. In this thesis I argue that while these artworks may appear iconoclastic, the artists do not reject tradition or denigrate religious images, but rather, reinterpret Buddhist iconography in a way that is relevant to current day issues in contemporary life. By redeploying Buddhist iconography in a contemporary context, these artists renew Tibetan art and Tibetan Buddhist culture, thereby helping to keep this endangered culture vital and dynamic. My thesis is largely based on extensive interviews with artists both in Tibet and the diaspora. In addition, the key authors and publications that have informed my work are: Clare Harris, anthropologist and curator at Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford, particularly her two books: In the Image of Tibet: Tibetan Painting after 1959 (1991) and The Museum on the Roof of the World (2012); Giuseppe Tucci; David Jackson; Per Kvaerne; Donald Lopez; Janet Gyatso, as well as contemporary Tibetan scholars, such as Tsering Shakya. I also draw on the work of post-colonial thinkers, such as Edward Said, and contemporary art theorists such as Nicolas Bourriaud, particularly his publication % Altermodern: Tate Triennial, 2009. Little serious scholarship has been undertaken into this relatively new art movement. Tibet’s unique socio-political situation, with its homeland now in China, a government-in-exile in India and widespread diaspora in the West, poses important questions with regard to identity in a globalised world that no longer conforms to the centre-periphery paradigm but rather accedes to a system of multi-directional cultural flows. The concept of a transnational art movement, which is nevertheless identifiable by its cultural foundation, is an important area of inquiry in terms of what it can say about the evolution of society and culture in a globalised world. It also has implications for the Eurocentric stranglehold over art history, notions of hybridity and Western cultural stereotypes of “the other”. By focusing on the contemporary art of the Tibetan community, my intention is to contribute to the post-Orientalist discussion of culture and unravel a complex iconography for a global audience. % Acknowledgements I would like to thank the University of Tasmania for supporting my project. I would particularly like to thank my supervisors, Llewellyn Negrin and Sonam Thakchoe as well as my graduate research coordinators, Paul Zika and Megan Keating. My thanks also to Suan Lee and to Head of School, Professor Kit Wise, and Dean of Graduate Research, Professor Clive Baldock. Thank you to Anita Hanson, Brita Hanson and Faye Harding for proof reading and moral support. Most importantly, I would like to thank the artists and other members of the Tibetan community, both in Tibet and in exile. (I hope I don’t forget anyone). In Lhasa: Ang Sang; Benchung (Benpa Chungdak); Dedron; Donlup; Gade; Lu Zhungde; Nortse (Norbu Tsering), Nyandak (Tsering Nyandak); Jhamsang; Penpa (Me Long); Penpa; Shelkawa A Nu; Somani; Tsewang Tashi; Tsering Namgyal; Yak Tseten; and my friend and guide, Nima. In Exile: Losang Gyatso; Tenzing Rigdol; Karma Phuntsok; Gonkar Gyatso; Palden Weinreb; Kesang Lamdark; Tashi Norbu. In India, the Dharamsala artists: Doctor Dawa, Samchung, Ngawang Dorjee, Kunchok, Tashi Lodeo, and Sarah Hartigan and Tashi Gyatso from Peak Art Gallery. Tenzin Gyaltsen Ghadong (Wangdue Tsering), applique thangka artist, and Lama Gelek Samten at Palpung Sherabling Institute, Baijnath. Very special acknowledgement must be given to Ogyen Trinley Dorje, 17th Gyalwang Karmapa and Pema Donyo Nyingche Wangpo, Vajradhara 12th Kenting Tai Situpa. And a big thank you to Karen McKeen who miraculously arranged audiences for me while at Sherabling. Thanks also to Lama Tsewang Lhakpa and Choje Lama Shedrup at the Palpung Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Launceston. At the Central University for Tibetan Studies at Sarnath, Varanasi, India, thank you to Professor Ngawang Samten and Ani Sonam’s brother, Chophel. There are also a number of people in China that I wish to acknowledge. In Beijing, I would like to thank Amy Liu for her hospitality and Shirley Pei for assistance with travel arrangements, as well as David Livdahl at Paul Hastings, and Derek Wong in Chengdu. I must also thank Brian Wallace of Red Gate Gallery for giving me his copy of the Scorching Sun of Tibet catalogue. Thanks also to Stephen McGuiness of Plum Blossoms Gallery and Martine Beale in Hong Kong. Thank you to Maria Mawo at Rubin Museum in New York, and Xiaohan and Rupa at Rossi and Rossi in London; Santosh Gupta at Lotus Gallery in Kathmandu; Eiko Honda, Gonkar Gyatso’s assistant, for arranging our first meeting in Sydney; artist Zhuoquan Liu who I met at Gonkar’s show in Brisbane, and Damian Smith in Melbourne. Special thanks to Ani Karma Sonam Palmo for her friendship and advice on all things Tibetan, particularly the feminine. And last but not least, thank you to my fellow traveller, Jocelyn Cunningham, for joining the first India field trip inter alia. % Table of Contents Statement of Authorship ...................................................................................................... i Statement of Access ............................................................................................................ ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 2 Emergence of Contemporary Tibetan Art ........................................................................ 5 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 12 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 19 Outline of Chapters ........................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 1. The Buddha Form ......................................................................................... 29 Traditional Iconometry ................................................................................................... 36 New Iconometry and the Buddha form .......................................................................... 39 Other uses of the Buddha Symbol .................................................................................. 44 The Buddha in Lhasa ...................................................................................................... 50 Chapter 2. Maṇḍala – Neo-Tantra .................................................................................. 64 Neo-Tantra ...................................................................................................................... 77 The maṇḍala in Lhasa .................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 3. Tantra – Male and Female Principles ......................................................... 94 Part I. Yab-yum ............................................................................................................... 95 Lhasa ......................................................................................................................... 104 Part II. Goddess – Tārā ................................................................................................. 113 Tārā in Lhasa