Rebgong Art Yesterday and Today
Tashi Gyamsto and Choejor, two of the most-accomplished Tibetan thangka artists from the region, established Nagarjuna Art School in Rebgong in 2013. The school aims to explore innovative educational approaches while preserving and developing the Tibetan thangka tradition within and beyond Tibetan communities.
Tashi Gyamsto and Choejor were born in the late 1960s. In the early phases of their career as Tibetan thangka artists, they followed their teacher, Jigmed Chuzung, an honored artist of the 9th Panchen Lama, on trips to Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Ta’er Monastery, Labrang Monastery, and Wutai Mountain to paint and restore murals. Over the past thirty years, they have trained over 250 Tibetan thangka artists. Last year, they were honored as “National Craftsmen and Artists” by the Chinese government. In 2010, Tashi Gyamsto and Choejor vowed to build a private thangka art school. They liquidated their painting collections and used the money to construct the school. While they are making great efforts to preserve the traditional teaching methods of thangka art, they are also attempting to move past some outdated customs by recruiting females and non-Tibetan students – people who were historically prohibited from learning thangka art. They also intend to incorporate the skills of traditional Chinese brush painting into thangka art.
The exhibition was divided into four sections: “Roots” demonstrates the history of Rebgong thangka art, “Inheritance” outlines the process of creating a thangka and illuminates real scenes in art studio of Rebgong, “Collection” displays ancient thangka paintings, Buddhist scripts, and art tools collected by Tashi Gyamsto and Choejor over the years, and “Transcendence” shows recent work by students of Tashi Gyamsto and Choejor.
“Unlike other thangka art shows, this exhibition blends ethnological and anthropological points of view, aiming at pinpointing the original ecology of Rebgong art and encouraging in-depth discussion of Rebgong thangka art,” explains curator Ming Xue, a postdoctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History.
For instance, in the hallway is a 20-meter-long installation titled Time-line that traces the life stories of Tashi Gyamsto and Choejor as well as significant historical events influencing Rebgong art. The installation presents a visual effect with strong Tibetan flavor. The exhibition hall is screening the documentary Nagarjuna Art School (2016, 23 min), produced by Ming Xue just before the school opened. Organizers also invited other thangka artists from Rebgong to show how they draw their work on-the-spot. Spectators learned how thangkas are painted and posed questions for the artists.
The exhibition in the Baimamedo Art Center in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone runs until August 10, 2016.
A thangka painting.
Thangka art has become more popular with young people.