[Bcma-l] 4 Important lectures on Tibetan art

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

*NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

August 31, 2007

Contact: Paul Crawford, Director/Curator
The Art Gallery of the South Okanagan
Phone: (250) 493-2928
E-mail: agso_curator@shawbiz.ca <mailto:agso_curator@shawbiz.ca>

Four important lectures on Tibetan Art at teh Art Gallery of the South 
Okanagan

The Art Gallery of the South Okanagan is proud to present four important 
lectures as part of our hugely succesful Tibetan Art exhibition and 
program. The lectures will take place on September 8th and 9th, 2007 at 
1:00 pm and 3:00 pm the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan 199 Marina 
Way, Penticton, BC. These lectures are by donation and open to the public.*

*Saturday September 8, 2007*

*Title: *The Life and Art of Choegyal Rinpoche
*Time:* 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
*Description:* Leah Carnahan will present an intimate look into the life 
and art of Choegyal Rinpoche exploring the history of his life, painting 
styles from 1950's -2007 and his efforts to preserve Tibetan arts and 
culture. Leah has also just returned from a trip to India where she was 
able to meet with Choegyal Rinpoche and learn more about his amazing 
life’s story and the history of this important collection of work.
*Web: *www.choegyalrinpoche.org <http://www.choegyalrinpoche.org>

*Title:* The Tibetan Wheel of Life
*Time: *3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
*Description: *Warren Williams discusses the Wheel of Life which 
illustrates in a popular way the essence of the Buddhist teachings, the 
Four Truths: the existence of earthly suffering, its origin and cause, 
the ending or prevention of misery and the practice path to liberation 
from suffering. The Wheel of Life describes the cause of all evil and 
its effects, mirrored in earthly phenomena just as it is experienced by 
everyone from the cradle to the grave. Picture by picture it reminds us 
that everyone is always his or her own judge and responsible for their 
own fate, because, according to Karma, causes and their effects is the 
fruits of one's own deeds. The circular composition of the Wheel of Life 
guides the viewer from picture to picture along the black path or the 
white path. It leads one through the twelve interwoven causes and their 
consequences to rebirth in one of the so-called Six Worlds. Projected on 
one plane, they fill the whole inner sphere the Wheel of Life. But the 
meaning of this painting is to show the way out of all these worlds of 
suffering into the sphere beyond.

*Sunday September 9th, 2007*

*Title: *Tibetan Thangka Painting
*Time:* 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
*Description:* Leah Carnahan will present a talk & slide show on the art 
of traditional Tibetan Thangka Painting which explores the steps 
involved in creating and preserving this amazing art form. A "Thangka," 
also known as "Tangka" or "Thanka" is a painted or embroidered Buddhist 
banner which was hung in a monastery or a family altar and carried by 
lamas in ceremonial processions. In Tibetan the word 'than' means flat 
and the suffix 'ka' stands for painting. The Thangka is thus a kind of 
painting done on flat surface but which can be rolled up when not 
required for display, sometimes called a scroll-painting. The most 
common shape of a Thangka is the upright rectangular form. Originally, 
thangka painting became popular among traveling monks because the scroll 
paintings were easily rolled and transported from monastery to 
monastery. These thangka served as important teaching tools depicting 
the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and 
Bodhisattva. One popular subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual 
representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment). 
*Web*: www.tibetanpaintings.com <http://www.tibetanpaintings.com>

*Title:* Reincarnation: the Tibetan Book of the Dead
*Time:* 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
*Description: *Warren Williams discusses the idea of re-incarnation. 
Hundreds of Tibetan religious leaders, the Panchen and Dalai Lamas 
foremost among them, are believed to be reincarnated upon their deaths. 
According to Buddhist tradition, a person's Self is not reborn, rather 
the spark of philosophical knowledge that they possess. Upon the 
extinction of a venerated lama, parties are sent out to examine children 
born soon after his death, especially those who display unusually 
memories of monastic life and unusual intelligence. The areas searched 
are often determined by directions or hints provided the dead lama or by 
omens and visions. When the Thirteenth Dalai Lama died, his body was 
placed, seated in state, facing south. After several weeks, it was 
discovered that his head had inclined towards the northeast, and this 
was taken as a sign of what direction to look for his successor. This 
and other signs led to the discovery of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in 
Amdo, northeast of Lhasa. When a potential reincarnation is found, the 
child is tested by monks familiar with the deceased lama. They check to 
see if the young incarnate recognizes old possessions and has the 
personality of their past master. In turn, the child may recognize the 
monks even if they come to him in disguise.

*For more information, please contact Paul Crawford at the Art Gallery 
of the South Okanagan, (250) 493-2928.

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