A Culture of Bidding: Forging an Art Market in China

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By David Barboza, Graham Bowley and Amanda Cox

Ma Weidu, a major collector who picked up some pieces in
exchange for cigarettes after the Cultural Revolution devalued art.

CHINA---“The market is in a very dubious stage,” said Alexander Zacke, an expert in Asian art who runs Auctionata, an international online auction house. While the luxury-buying habits in China often mimic those in the West, the demand for art reflects uniquely Chinese tastes. While the rest of the world bids up Pollocks and Rothkos, Chinese buyers typically pursue traditional Chinese pieces, some by 15th-century masters, and others by modern artists, like Zhang Daqian, one of many who have chosen to work in that old style. [link]

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Hoping to Save the Remains of a Ming Dynasty Temple

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Didi Kirsten Tatlow

CHINA---First a printing press, then real estate developers, now a welding-machine factory. Everyone has taken a piece of Nianhua Si, or Picking Flowers Temple, a Ming dynasty place of worship in the storied Drum Tower district of Beijing. Yet the real threat to the temple — dozens of historically and religiously significant buildings begun in 1581, the ninth year of the reign of the Wanli Emperor, and given its present name in 1734 during the Qing dynasty — isn’t decay, say residents and conservationists. It’s redevelopment. [link]

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A Day of Enlightenment: Bodhi Day on December 8, 2013

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Different oral traditions have different dates for the Buddha's birth. Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA

On December 8, Buddhist commemorate the holyday of Bohdi Day, marking the historical moment when Buddha, Siddhartha Gautauma (Shakyamuni) experienced enlightenment. There are more than 488 million Buddhists worldwide. The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2004 indicates that 1.0% of the U.S. population is Buddhist, which would mean a total of 3,000,000 Buddhists (give or take about 100,000). Buddhists believe in reincarnation and strive for the state of nirvana. Enlightenment is achieved through morality, meditation and wisdom. There are three major branches of Buddhism - Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism.

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Liuligongfang’s Buddha in Glass is Purely Spiritual

TAIPEI TIMES
By Enru Lin

Buddha-inspired glass art by Liuligongfang, a glass art workshop founded by Loretta Yang and Chang Yi.

TAIWAN---Liuligongfang has just launched a major art exhibition that is uninterested in courting a mainstream audience. No subject is contemporary; everything is spiritual. Only With Compassion is divided into two parts, both tied to the Buddhist faith. One section takes flowers as its theme, a symbol of purity and life. The other is based purely on Buddha. Created mostly by Yang Hui-shan, they are serene sculptures with a melancholy undercurrent. Like all Liuligongfang works, the glass Buddhas were created with an expensive and technically difficult pate-de-verre method, or “lost-wax casting.”[link]

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National Museum of Korea Publishes Book of Central Asian Religious Paintings

BUDDHIST ART NEWS

KOREA---The National Museum of Korea (Director Kim Youngna) announces a new publication: Central Asian Religious Paintings in the National Museum of Korea. This is the first volume of a series of catalogues that presents the Central Asian collection of the NMK. Originating from Central Asia and currently in the NMK’s possession, the artifacts presented in the catalogue were among those collected from a Japanese expedition in the early 20th century led by a priest named Ōtani Kozui (1876−1948). [link]

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$32 million university donation a boost for study of ancient Asian art

UNIVERSITY WORLD
By Yojana Sharma

ILLINOIS---A visit to the abandoned and dilapidated Yangon University campus in Myanmar over a year ago was the unlikely setting for a discussion that led to a groundbreaking £20 million (US$32 million) donation to London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS. The grant from the Alphawood Foundation in Chicago will go towards training art and culture experts in ancient Hindu and Buddhist art in South East Asia, and will help revive museums in those countries after decades of neglect. [link]

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Tampa Artist, Paula Brett's Candy Mandalas Earn National Recognition

TAMPA BAY DISPATCH
By Robynn Mitchell

"Tree of Life" Candala (2013) by Paula Brett

FLORIDA---Paula Brett placed the ribbon candies in a circle atop a sheet of white paper on the floor of her art studio in Tampa. She was building a mandala, an artistic representation of the universe and the idea of impermanence with roots in the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Brett, former yoga instructor and art teacher, connects with the idea of impermanence and the sacred symmetry of mandalas. Wall-sized 40-foot by 40-foot photos of Brett's mandalas will go on display in New York's Dylan's Candy Bar on Dec. 2. Dylan's Candy Bar will display the limited edition candy mandala prints and sell them for $2,150. [link]

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Art Review: ‘Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom,’ at the Metropolitan Museum

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ken Johnson

A larger-than-life Buddha made of cast iron in the late eighth or early ninth century.

NEW YORK---Here’s a good question for “Jeopardy!”: One of the world’s longest-running dynasties, it emerged around 57 B.C. and grew to dominate the Korean Peninsula in the seventh and eighth centuries before meeting its demise in A.D. 935. The answer: What was Silla? If the name Silla is unfamiliar, it might be partly because no major museum exhibition about this kingdom’s art, craft and culture has been mounted in the West until now. “Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents more than 130 objects dating from A.D. 400 to around 800, organized by Soyoung Lee, associate curator, and Denise Leidy, curator, in the Met’s Asian art department, with colleagues at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul and the Gyeongju National Museum.[link]

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Art Basel 2013: Artist Carlito Dalceggio Fuses Buddhist Dogma and Disney

MIAMI NEW TIMES
By Carolina del Busto

FLORIDA---The Ricart Gallery's newest location is planted firmly in the heart of Wynwood's Art District. The walls are a bright white, and positioned neatly at the front windows -- as well as the roof of the building -- are two Pinocchio statues painted by artist Carlito Dalceggio. Dalceggio is experimenting with Mickey Mouse's head and Buddha's body. His main vision for this exhibition is universal peace, therefore by taking an image that is highly commercialized (Mickey Mouse), and another that is highly idolized (Buddha), he is bringing together "two opposite visions of the world, because it's now time to cut the difference and put them all together in the blender and bring about universal peace." [link]

Artist Carlito Dalceggio standing next to his Mickey-Buddha sculptor

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Ancient Korea's Western Debut in New York City

THE STAR ONLINE

Treasures from the past: A golden Buddha statue which is part of the Silla Exhibit.

NEW YORK---Treasures from the little-known Silla kingdom on display at New York’s Metropolitan museum. An exhibition of exquisite treasures from ancient Korea opens in New York last week, marking the first display anywhere outside Asia of the little-known Silla kingdom. The most famous exports from Korea, a territory split in two by war, are the TVs, tablets and phones of South Korea multi-national Samsung, the exhibition’s sponsors. The ancient kingdom of Silla, which rose to prominence in the fifth century, is barely known in the West. “Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom” sets out to change that by showcasing dazzling art sixteenth centuries old on loan from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul and Gyeongju. [link]

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Religiously Inspired Tattoos Show Faith That's Not Just Skin-Deep

THE HUFFINGTON POST

A huge buddha head decorates the back of a man in Germany

For many inked individuals, tattoos are a way to commemorate a spiritual journey or a means of expressing one's internal self. The body becomes the canvas for a diverse array of religious inspiration through this artform. Though cultures and religions differ in their official teachings with regards to tattoos, it's undeniable that many people find them a meaningful way of expressing their personal faith and spirituality. Judaism and Islam have historically discouraged tattoos, citing scripture and hadith. Others see tattoos as a unique way to evangelize, proudly showing off their faith with their adorned bodies. [link]

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Zen and the Art of the BuJu

THE JEWISH DAILY FORWARD
By Jan Michelson

Now and Zen: This Buddhist temple, photographer in 1973 in Tatung, China, evokes a way of life that some see as surprisingly compatible with Judaism.

I admit, I am a BuJu. Of course, I am not alone. Not only do a disproportionate number of American Buddhist teachers come from Jewish backgrounds, but many Jews practice both Judaism and Buddhism, and many more practice a Jewish spirituality influenced by Buddhist-derived meditation practices and values. Sociologically, BuJus are yet another subgroup of the iSpirituality generation, those millions of Americans who draw upon multiple religious or spiritual traditions, mixing and matching not according to preference but according to pragmatism. While Judaism places great emphasis building a sense of Jewish identity, much Western Buddhist practice aims to deconstruct the notion of identity itself. [link]

Jay Michaelson is the author of “Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment,” published by North Atlantic Books, from which this essay has been adapted.

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Myanmar Buddha Sculpture Returns Home After Wild Ride

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

Buddhist devotees pour water on a Buddha statue at the Shwedagon Pagoda on Oct 10, 2013, in Yangon, Myanmar.

MYANMAR---An 11th-century Buddha was returned to Myanmar after two decades abroad. Several Southeast Asian countries - including Myanmar and Cambodia - are trying to reclaim cultural artifacts. The country's loosely protected ancient artworks are still vulnerable to theft, particularly as some in the antiquities trade develop newfound interest in Myanmar art, says Catherine Raymond, a professor at Northern Illinois University who played a central role in the sculpture's repatriation. "Contemporary art [in Myanmar] is a rising star, but the dark side is the trafficking of antiquities," she says, adding that the trade has been "flourishing" for the last decade. [link]

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Contemporary Art Meets Buddhism at South Korean Temple

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Jeyup S. Kwaak

The Temple of Haeinsa, an ancient shrine on a mountainside s
outheast of Seoul, is playing host to a contemporary art show.

SOUTH KOREA---A South Korean Buddhist temple is playing host to a contemporary art show, in an effort to throw a new perspective to the ancient religion and the age-old surroundings. The Temple of Haeinsa, a 1,211-year-old shrine located on a mountainside 280 kilometers (174 miles) southeast of Seoul, is home to the Tripitaka Koreana, the most complete collection of Buddhist texts, laws and treaties, engraved on more than 80,000 woodblocks carved in the 13th century. This year marks the Haein Art Project’s second edition, which features 30 artists from South Korea, Hong Kong, India, the U.S., Spain and Italy. Most created new artworks after spending two weeks or more at the temple.[link]

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Chicago Philanthropist’s Gift to Aid Studies of Southeast Asia

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Kimko de Freytas-Tamura

UNITED KINGDOM---An American philanthropist and major donor to President Obama’s campaign and Democratic causes has given £20 million (about $32 million) to London’s School of Oriental and African Studies to support research into Buddhist and Hindu art in Southeast Asia. The donation will help fund 80 scholarships for students from the region, add three new chairs and help expand the school campus, according to a statement from the Alphawood Foundation, presided over by the donor, Fred Eychaner. The school, part of the University of London, specializes in humanities and languages from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Eychaner is a Chicago-based media baron who in 2009 studied for a post-graduate degree at the school. [link]

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Give the Gift of Dharma

TRICYCLE

Image from article, "Drunk on Darma"

The Buddhist texts say there’s no more precious gift than the gift of dharma. You can continue this time-honored practice by giving a Tricycle Community Gift Sustaining Membership to someone you love. Your gift recipients get four issues of Tricycle magazine and will enjoy all the premium online features that are available exclusively to Sustaining Members. Best of all, you’ll enjoy substantial savings. You get your first membership order (new, renewal, or gift) at our lowest member rate. Then, save 50% on each Sustaining Membership gift you give! Give a Gift Sustaining Membership now!

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Devotion & Desire: Cross-Cultural Art at the Asian Civilizations Museum

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Cross with symbol of the Buddha

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE---The Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, presents "Devotion & Desire: Cross-Cultural Art in Asia" through December 2013. This exhibition reveals new directions for the Asian Civilisations Museum, which has recently focused on building understanding of the diverse cultures of Asia. The objects reveal surprising connections between Asian cultures, and between Asia and the wider world. Cross-cultural works of art are powerful indicators that peoples of diverse cultures and faiths have lived together harmoniously for centuries throughout Asia. Themes of the exhibition include the importance of trade, transmission of religions, courtly art, and colonial networks. This is the first time that the public has the opportunity to see many of these new treasures.

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Guggenheim Brings Razor Bed, Baseball Buddhist, Goats to Asia

BLOOMBERG NEWS
By Frederik Balfour

Love Bed" (2012) made of stainless steel razor blades by Tayeba Begum Lipi. 

HONG KONG---A bed made of razor blades, a Buddhist monk carved from a baseball bat, and minimalist goats are on display at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. “No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia” features works specifically acquired by the Guggenheim Museum to create the touring show of artists you won’t find at many auctions or international art fairs. The show feels fresh and edgy. Take Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi’s “Love Bed” (2012), composed of gleaming stainless steel razor blades that challenge traditional notions of marriage, childbirth and gender. [link]

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Artists' Dream About Contemporary Tibetan Art

CCTV
By Zhang Hao

CHINA---Tibet's first and only contemporary art gallery is located on the Barkhor Street, a well-known street for pilgrimage and businesses in downtown Lhasa, where a few young artists seek their artistic dream. Ten years ago, 12 Tibetan youngsters often got together at a Sichuan restaurant on the Barkhor Street for their common ideal to develop the Tibetan contemporary art. They raised money and bought the restaurant later, turning it into a small and nonprofit art gallery. They named the art gallery after Gedun Chophel, a renowned Tibetan humanism pioneer and academic master, sowing the first seed of the local contemporary art in Tibet. [link]

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New York Hosts Ancient Korea Debut in West

GLOBAL POST

A Buddha from the pagoda at Hwangboksa Temple site is displayed on October 28, 2013 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as part of an exhibition of treasures from ancient Korea (AFP, Don Emmert)

NEW YORK---Drawn to bling? A fan of gold jewelry? Keen on Buddha? If so, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art offers the newest ticket to fend off the winter chill. An exhibition of exquisite treasures from ancient Korea opens in New York next week, marking the first display anywhere outside Asia of the little known Silla kingdom. The exhibition is divided into three parts: glittering golden treasures -- beautifully intricate and in perfect condition -- from fifth and sixth century tombs. [link]

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