How to Study Tibetan Art
Tibetan art incorporates religious imagery and symbolism into intricate paintings, sculptures, weavings and manuscripts. Tibetan art has features in common with other kinds of Himalayan art but is completely different from western art. The artist is usually anonymous, and far less emphasis is placed on one main object or figure in the work. Tibetan art is created for the purposes of meditation, education and devotion. You can't study it in the linear way you might approach western art initially because, although Tibetan art has changed over the centuries, there aren't defined schools each lasting for a certain period of time and followed by another.
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Things You'll Need
- Books about Tibetan or Himalayan art
- Book about Buddhism
- Book about Tibetan history
Instructions
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Purchase or borrow a selection of books. As well as books showing Tibetan and Asian art, choose one or more on Buddhism and Tibetan history. To understand Tibetan art, you need to understand the references, symbolism and purpose, and this is inseparable from the religion.
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Read about the history and religion of Tibet to put the art into context.
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Read about how the artworks are used as a focus for meditation.
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Select one type of artwork to focus on at a time. This could be sculptures, mandalas, illustrated manuscripts, or miniature paintings. Find examples of the work in your art books and read the explanation as you look at a picture of the work. Tibetan art is very dense, with each work containing a multitude of symbols and figures. Looking at more than two or three examples at a time is overwhelming. Try the meditation techniques used with the artwork.
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Visit an art gallery showcasing Tibetan art. Visit virtual galleries online to see a greater variety.
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Enroll for a class on Tibetan or Asian art. To find such a class, contact libraries, local colleges, universities, Asian cultural centers or Buddhist centers. Be flexible: if a course specifically on Tibetan art isn't available, try one on Asian or Himalayan art that covers Tibet.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit tibetan dragon image by Grigory Kubatyan from Fotolia.com
