Artful Beneficence
Selections from the David R. Nalin Himalayan Art Collection
Melissa R. Kerin
With contributions from Donald Rubin, David R. Nalin, Pratapaditya Pal, and Michael W. Meister
This book, published in conjunction with the exhibition A Collector's Passion: South Asian Selections from the Nalin Collection shown at the Rubin Museum of Art from June 12 through November 9, 2009, places a distinguished private collection in an art historical context, providing insightful and carefully researched observations about iconography, style, and dating in Himalayan art. Melissa R. Kerin, the primary author, worked closely with the collector and other scholars in the field to present accurate and up-to-date information about each object.
Price: $50 (Hardcover), $40 (Paperback)
Member Price: $45 (Hardcover), $36 (Paperback)
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Published: June 2009
Binding: Hardcover and Paperback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 978-0-9772131-5-3 (hc), 978-09772131-6-0 (pb)
Bon: The Magic Word
The Indigenous Religion of Tibet
Samten G. Karmay and Jeff Watt, Editors
Authors: David L. Snellgrove, Jeff Watt, Samten G. Karmay, Per Kvaerne, Dan Martin, Charles Ramble, and Henk Blezer
"Accepting everything, refusing nothing through the centuries, it is the one all-embracing form of Tibetan religion," the leading Tibetan scholar David L. Snellgrove once said of Bon. This book, the first of its kind to be dedicated solely to the art of Bon religion and culture, aims to explore and reveal the many hidden treasures of this long-overlooked religion. Engaging with great scholars of the field, in particular Samten G. Karmay, the reader is invited to delve into this rich culture. Jeff Watt, curator at the Rubin Museum of Art, defines the field by differentiating between Bon and Buddhist art, with which it so often confused. The other contributors look at specific topics within Bon, including the roots of the religion, its paintings, and its sacred geography, and set the fascinating art and artifacts that are so central to Bon learning within their proper context. The purpose of this book is to inspire an appreciation of the beauty of Bon art while simultaneously enabling an understanding of the ethos of Bon, from its obscure beginnings to the beliefs of the million or more Bonpo practitioners of today.
Original Price: $34.95
Member Price: $31.45
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and Philip Wilson Publisher, London
Published: October 2007
Binding: Hardcover and Paperback
Pages: 232
ISBN: 978-0856676499 (hc), 978-0977213122 (pb)
Buddha in Paradise
A Celebration in Himalayan Art
Glenn H. Mullin and Heather Stoddard
The human mind has reached continuously over millennia for visions of realms beyond suffering—without death, pain, longing, or ignorance. In many cultures, terms used to describe such places share the root meaning of "paradise," a "walled garden," and corresponding notions of protection, delight, and contentment. This publication lays out in sculptures and paintings the concept of "paradise" in Tibetan Buddhism, understood through different approaches and teachings, the most radical of which confronts us with the realization that paradise is all around us if we are able to perceive it. Poetry and writings by Buddhist masters, including texts that guide the passage from death to rebirth, are provided to accompany the visual communications of these ideas in paintings, textiles, and sculpture.
Price: $40.00
Member Price: $36.00
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Published: October 2007
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 172
ISBN: 978-0-9772131-1-5
Demonic Divine
Himalayan Art and Beyond
Rob Linrothe and Jeff Watt
Focusing on 66 works of art, the book investigates how the violence, grotesque features, and explicit postures of these "wrathful" figures are displays of protection and benevolence. With nearly 200 color images highlighting both the visual power and artistic craftsmanship of the artwork, the margin between horror and beauty becomes slim. This extensive catalogue includes entries of all exhibited works along with comprehensive essays by the exhibition's curator, Rob Linrothe (Associate Professor of Art History at Skidmore College), Jeff Watt (Director of the Himalayan Art Website), and Marylin Rhie (Professor of Asian Art at Smith College). Matthieu Ricard contributes the catalogue's foreword.
Although drawing primarily from Himalayan work in the RMA permanent collection, the catalog also includes non-Asian art on loan from major museums and private collections. The "demonic divine" is a fundamental paradox not limited by time or geography. Works included range from 13th-century Tibet through 20th-century Mexico.
Price: $29.95
Member Price: $26.95
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and Serindia Publications, Chicago
Published: October 2004
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 344
ISBN: 1-932476-15-6 (hc), 1-932476-08-3 (pb)
Female Buddhas
Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mystical Art
Glenn H. Mullin with Jeff Watt
Any visitor to a Tibetan temple will be impressed by the large number of female images that appear in wall frescos and thangka paintings, as well as in the form of sculptures and other mediums. This strong role of the feminine in Tibetan mystical art is common to the chapels of monasteries and nunneries alike as well as communal meditation hermitages and stands in sharp contrast to the predominance of male images seen in the temples of most other Buddhist countries.
But who are these female buddha forms and what do they represent? What is their place in Tibet’s rich spiritual, philosophical and artistic worlds?
This book is a pioneering attempt to find answers to these important questions. It includes over 100 full-color plates of Tibetan masterpieces from the RMA collection.
Publisher: Clear Light Publishers, Sante Fe, New Mexico
Published: 2003
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 176
ISBN: 1-57416-068-0
The Flag Project
Contemporary Artists Celebrate the Opening of a New Museum
Simon Winchester and Katherine Anne Paul
This catalogue offers an overview of the origins of traditional Himalayan prayer flags as well as a contemporary view of their continued potency in the communication of hope for communal and individual well-being. Also presented are colorful reproductions of the more than 120 contemporary designs made for prayer flags by artists from around the world who contributed their best wishes for the success of the Rubin Museum of Art when it opened in October 2004. RMA commissioned works from contemporary artists to celebrate the opening of the museum, and the works were then printed on pieces of silk cut into small squares and hung in strings in the traditional manner of Tibetan prayer flags. The flags have been shown on several occasions at RMA since 2004. Aloft and aflutter, they have filled the air with good wishes, unfurled joyous colors, and dispensed good fortune. Here, the excellent reproductions are bound in one small volume for individual scrutiny and pleasure.
Price: $14.95
Member Price: $13.45
Published: April 2007
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 192
ISBN: 978-0-9772131-0-8
The Flying Mystics of Tibetan Buddhism
Glenn H. Mullin and Amelia Arenas
Traditional Tibetan literature tells of Buddhist mystics who have taken off in joyful flight. Buddha himself is said to have done so on several occasions, as did Indian masters such as Nagarjuna and Padma Sambhava. The legacy was adopted by Tibetan mystics in the 8th century, with the yogini Yeshey Tsogyal as a prime example, and continued over the centuries. The 11th century yogi and poet Milarepa is another famous flyer.
This historical anecdotes in Tibetan literature and oral tradition that speak of mystics with powers of levitation and flight find their way into Tibetan art. The book features Tibetan artworks, many from the Rubin Museum collection, depicting the literary and oral legacy of levitation and flight among Tibetan mystics.
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and Serindia Publications, Chicago
Published: March 2006
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 248
ISBN: 978-1-932746-18-7
Holy Madness
Portraits of Tantric Siddhas
Rob Linrothe, Editor
Authors: Debra Diamond, Tushara Bindu Gude, Sondra L. Hausner, David Jackson, Matthew T. Kapstein, Rob Linrothe, Christian Luczanits, Dan Martin, Geoffrey Samuel, and E. Gene Smith, with contributions by Kathryn Selig Brown and Caron Smith
Holy Madness: Portraits of Tantric Siddhas is a groundbreaking examination of the art and legends of some of the most colorful characters in South Asian and Himalayan civilizations, the great siddhas (mahasiddhas, great spiritually accomplished ones). The catalogue provides a survey of the format of mahasiddha art and the contexts and purposes for which the art was originally made. It features complete sets of paintings and sculptures—in some cases reconstituting groups that have been dispersed into different Western museum collections. More than 100 works of art are included, from Indian miniatures to contemporary photographs of ascetics, Nepalese clay sculptures, Tibetan woodblock prints, palm-leaf manuscripts, and lifesize bronze sculpture. The various works are compared with art still surviving in situ to give a broad view of this important and charismatic type of religious teacher, one that inspired generations of artists.
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and Serindia Publications, Chicago
Published: February 2006
Binding: Hardcover and Paperback
Pages: 454
ISBN: 978-1932476-26-2 (hc), 978-1-932476-25-5 (pb)
I See No Stranger
Early Sikh Art and Devotion
B. N. Goswamy and Caron Smith
Guru Nanak (1469–1539) founded the Sikh religion, calling for the recognition of one god, by whatever name devotees chose to call him and the rejection of superstition, avarice, meaningless ritual, and social oppression. In his radical embrace of all religions, Guru Nanak envisioned a loving god who was outside the bound of any one religion. He upheld the truth of equality among all beings and practiced the quiet heroics of holding up a mirror to foolishness. Meditation and devotion were identified as the work of the private domain and charity, honest work, and service to humanity as the obligations to the social domain. This catalogue brings together and illuminates works of art that identify these core Sikh belies in the period of their early development by the 10 historical Gurus (16th–17th century). The works of art, from the 16th through the 19th century, include paintings, drawings, textiles, and metalwork. The essay and object texts by B. N. Goswamy and Caron Smith provide keen insight into early Sikh devotion and examine the works of art in the contest of the North Indian cultural mix in which they were created.
Price: $39.95
Member Price: $35.95
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, India
Published: August 2006
Binding: Hardcover and Paperback
Pages: 214
ISBN: 1-890206-05-9 (hc), 1-890206-05-9 (pb)
Mandala
Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism
Martin Brauen
With contributions by Karl Debrecseny, Amy Heller, Edward Henning, Christian Luczanits, Ariana Maki, Marylin Rhie, Michael R Sheehy, and Jeff Watt
The mandala depicts a sacred and complex realm. Its most recurrent graphic form is a circle, or a circle in a square. The word mandala means both center and circumference. Mandalas are created as a model for visualization practice as an aid to mediation, enabling an initiate to advance toward a state of enlightenment.
The Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism, by Martin Brauen, is an updated edition of his acclaimed volume, first published in 1992. The book, and its related exhibition, Mandala: The Perfect Circle at the Rubin Museum of Art from August 14, 2009 through January 11, 2010, explore the various manifestations of the mandala while simultaneously explaining its symbolism, the means by which it fulfills its function, and its correlation with our physical reality. An important part of the book and the exhibition focus on the complex symbolism of the number five, which plays an critical role in Tantric Buddhism. This pentarchy is found in the spatial references of the five directions (the four cardinal points plus the center): the five elements, the five colors, the five aggregates, the five wisdoms, and the five Tathagata Buddhas, or transcendent Buddhas. Illustrations include different kinds of mandalas--paintings, three-dimensional works, and ritual objects related to mandala ceremonies and drawn from the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art as well as museum and private collections worldwide. Also illustrated is a mandala ritual with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama presiding as master.
In his concluding chapter, Brauen reflects on the mandala and its relationship to Western philosophy, especially in the work and writings of the renowned Swiss psychologist C. G. Jung.
Price: $70.00
Member Price: $63.00
Publishers: Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart, and Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Published: August 2009
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 264
ISBN: 978-3-89790-305-0
Paradise and Plumage
Chinese Connections in Tibetan Arhat Painting
Rob Linrothe
This 104-page volume celebrates and explores the artistic exchange between Tibet and China from the 13th to the 19th century, taking the theme of Buddhist arhat painting as a concise lens through which to view the wider ramifications of artistic and cultural interaction. Examining the exchange of motifs, compositions, and modes of representation, Paradise and Plumage reveals the creative reassignment of meaning when Tibetan artists appropriate aspects that may derive from older Chinese traditions and vice versa.
The catalog features a rich selection of objects and paintings, ranging from a fine 17th-century Kesi textile from the Newark Museum to a delicate mid-14th-century hanging scroll from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Also included are traditional arhat objects, such as furniture, pottery, pieces of coral and turquoise, and scholars' rocks.
Original Price: $14.95
Member Price: $13.45
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and Serindia Publications, Chicago
Published: April 2004
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 104
ISBN: 1-932476-07-5
Patron and Painter
Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style
David P. Jackson
with an essay by Karl Debreczeny
Patron and Painter focuses on the life and work of an important historical artist, Situ Panchen Chokyi Junge (1700-1774) and his revival of a great Tibetan painting tradition known as the Karma Gardri or Encampment Style. It is clear, precise, and spacious, with marked Chinese influence evident in the use of pastel colors and prominent stylized features of landscape. David P. Jackson has unlocked Situ's diaries and journals and mapped his journeys, recounting some of his encounters with the military, political, and religious leaders of this time and recording some of his amazing achievements in fields ranging from art to medicine. This publication begins to visually tell the story of Situ's paintings and his role as a patron and designer of paints, many of which continue to be copied to this day.
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Distributer: University of Washington Press, Seattle and London
Published: 2009
Binding: Cloth and Paperback
Pages: 304; 190 color illustrations
ISBN: Cloth 978-09772131-4-6; Paper 978-0-9772131-3-9
Tradition Transformed
Tradition Transformed
Tibetan Artists Respond
With essays by Michael R. Sheehy, Anna Bremm, and HG Masters
Price: $38
Member Price: $34.20
Many Tibetan artists are trained in painting through the strict interpretations prescribed by Buddhist spiritual formulas and artistic norms. But in the complex interaction between the traditional and the modern, some artists are breaking out of this mold and creating their own artwork deeply influenced by centuries-old customs but wholly new. In this catalog, nine artists—Dedron, Gonkar Gyatso, Losang Gyatso, Kesang Lamdark, Tenzin Norbu, Tenzing Rigdol, Pema Rinzin, Tsherin Sherpa and Penba Wangdu—combine modernity and tradition, using alternative media and sacred symbols extracted from their religious context, to create groundbreaking contemporary artwork that continues to have deep ties to Tibetan traditions. The essays by Michael Sheehy, Anna Bremm, and HG Masters explore what it means to be a contemporary artist in a traditional culture and a diaspora, while the interview with Paola Vanzo by Sheehy describes the present and future of contemporary Tibetan art.
Publisher: Rubin Museum of Art, New York, and ArtAsiaPacific
Published: 2010
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 184
ISBN: 978-0-9845626-0-3
Victorious Ones
Victorious Ones
Jain Images of Perfection
Phyllis Granoff, Editor
John E. Cort, Robert J. Del Bontà, Paul Dundas, Phyllis Granoff, Julia A. B. Hegewald, Padmanabh S. Jaini, Kim Plofker, and Sonya Rhie Quintanilla
Price: $75 (Hardcover), $60 (Paperback)
Member Price: $67.50 (Hardcover), $54 (Paperback)
Jainism is one of India's three classical religions, along with Buddhism and Hinduism. Though older than Buddhism by a generation, the two religions arose and first spread in northeastern India and have much in common. Both Buddhism and Jainism aim to offer practitioners a path to follow that leads from the painful cycle of endless rebirths to liberation from all suffering. Both religions also rejected many of the practices and ideas of early Hinduism, particularly its core ritual of a sacrifice that involved the killing of animals, preaching instead a doctrine of nonviolence. Today, nonviolence, the commitment to an ethic that regards all life, animal and human, as inviolate, continues to be the heart of Jain practice and belief.
With essays by leading scholars of Asian religions and art, this catalog illuminates the core ideas of Jainism and the founding figures of Jainism, the Jinas, "Conquerors" or Tirthankaras, and the various spaces they sanctify. The Jinas, having achieved liberation and escaped from the world in which we live, are nonetheless considered to remain accessible to us as objects of our devotion. For the majority of Jains, the Jinas are present to us in many different kinds of sacred spaces across the universe. Their images and temples exist throughout the vast reaches of the cosmos. We see them carefully depicted on painted maps of the Jain universe. Closer to home some Jains worship them at famous pilgrimage sites and in private domestic shrines. This publication brings together sculptures and paintings of the Jinas, depictions of many kinds of Jain sacred spaces, as well as illustrated manuscripts of Jain sacred texts. Many of the objects discussed and illustrated here have never before been published.
Publishers: Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd, Ahmedabad, India, and Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Published: September 2009
Binding: Hardcover and Paperback
Pages: 308
ISBN: 978-81-89995-29-4 (Mapin HC), 978-0-944142-83-7 (PB)
Worlds of Tranformation
Worlds of Transformation
Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion
Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A.F. Thurman
Price: $49.95
Member Price: $44.95
In continuing their groundbreaking work to understand and make accessible the complexity of Tibetan art, Marylin Rhie and Robert Thurman have produced a second volume devoted to the study of tangka painting. Their earlier volume, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet offered a significant introduction and analysis of Tibetan sacred painting. Worlds of Transformation furthers our understanding of this art, opening our imagination to the limitless possibilities of life itself. The thangkas, from the collections of Shelley and Donald Rubin, span the 12th through 20th centuries and the spectrum of Tibetan artistic schools.
This monumental volume presents an analysis of each painting in terms of iconography and religious meaning, style, regional lineage and sources. Each painting is reproduced in color and most are published here for the first time. In addition, an essay by David Jackson offers an excellent overview on paintings from the Kagyupa order.
Publisher: Tibet House, New York, in association with the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation
Published: 1999
Binding: Hardcover and Paperback
Pages: 480
ISBN: 0-8109-6387-6
