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padma
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padma (Phyllis Glanville Miller)
TANTRIC VISIONS: CONTEMPORARY TANTRIC ART FROM THE TIBETAN TRADITION
Tantra, from the Sanskrit word fabric, is an ancient term that embraces a wide range of ideas and practices variously associated with Harrapan, Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist belief systems. In its broadest sense, tantra refers to a spiritual path that seeks direct spiritual experience through meditation, the use of ritual sacraments and, sometimes, ecstatic sexual practices. In essence, the physical world is seen as reflecting the greater cosmic order, and enlightenment is taught to be as readily attainable by direct experience of the material world as by the practice of monastic asceticism. Tantric yogas teach that spiritual unity with the divine can be achieved in union with a partner. The physical act of love thus becomes, both figuratively and literally, an act in which the dualities of spirit/matter, mind/body and self/other are transcended. Perhaps the finest expressions of this longed-for state of blissful transcendence occur in the Yab-Yum (male principle-female principle) drawings that abound in tantric art, here represented in the Amitayus (Buddha of Long Life) and Kuntozangpo (Primordial Buddha) images.
The sacred art of Tibet has its origins in the 7th century, when Srong Tsen Gampo first unified his kingdom and, thereafter extended its dominion over much of India and China. By marrying princesses from neighbouring China and Nepal he gave royal approval to the introduction of Buddhism and its eventual establishment as the official state religion. Tibetan culture drew upon these external influences and the attendant Buddhist arts of architecture, sculpture and painting, until, over many centuries, they were assimilated into an indigenous tradition with its own distinctively Tibetan characteristics.
One of the many flowers of this indigenous tradition were the Tibetan thangka paintings, which are two-dimensional images of multi-dimensional worlds depicting the many deities and their various spheres of influence. Beautiful artworks in their own right, they also serve, to the initiated, as mnemonics that map the esoteric co-ordinates of the physical, psychological and spiritual planes. Authentic transmission of the truths hidden within these images was only assured, over time, by the codification of complex symbolic systems handed down by generations of dedicated artists. Underlying each sinuously swirling image is a mathematically precise grid defining the exact arrangement of every element in the composition. Each angle, each colour, each object, fulfils its predestined place in a grander design, and the glory of the thangka-maker's art lies in cleaving as closely as humanly possible to an ineffable ideal.
With the treasure trove of Tibetan visionary art almost destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, Tibetan Buddhism in diaspora has developed new roots, as the displaced lamas have found willing students in foreign lands. One such is the American artist Phyllis Glanville Miller, who paints using her received spiritual name of Padma, (Sanskrit for 'lotus.') Trained in Design at UCLA, her early interest in sacred art deepened into a fascination with the intricately detailed forms of Tibetan tantric art. Immersing herself in the study of Vajrayana Buddhism - which practices the visualisation of specific deities - her understanding of the teachings grew when she allied her daily spiritual discipline with her artistic routine by painting images of the deities in the Tibetan style. Without benefit of the prolonged training of traditional thangka painters, yet finding guidance under the watchful eye of lamas such as the respected Nyingma teacher, Chagdud Rinpoche, Padma, has absorbed the essence of the traditional iconography.
Kuntozangpo Yab-yum
Working on a matte black background, both on canvas and paper, she takes creative advantage of modern materials, using special acrylic paints with metallic, fluorescent and optical interference properties. This device leaves the floating images suspended in an infinite void, their shimmering colours subtly dependent on the viewing angle. These luminous deities radiate a preternatural light all of their own, recalling that early manifestation of the 'black thangka' style in the Golden Manuscript of the 'Great Fifth' Dalai Lama (1617 - 1682).
The paintings express an evident relish in the depiction of dakinis, tantric divinities embodying feminine wisdom and, sometimes, wrathful energies. This delight can be felt in Kurukulle, an aspect of Tara, actively empowered with flower bow and arrow to overwhelm dualities, and, by floral hook and noose, to bind them into a unifying experience of enlightenment. So too, with Senge Dongma, the powerful, lion-headed guardian, whose blazing aureole articulates the irate energy of her dynamic dance. Rigjed Lhamo portrays a more benign aspect of Red Tara, serenely seated on a lotus throne. Her right hand, forming the mudra of supreme generosity, holds a vase of the elixir of immortality, (amrita,) while her left an utpala flower surmounted by a bow of red lotus flowers. The tiled background against which her rainbow aureole rotates reiterates the seed syllable of her mantra, 'Tam.' The frontispiece depicts Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara,) the Bodhisattva of Compassion and guardian deity of Tibet, whose white body signifies the cool peace of compassion. Clasping a wish-fulfilling jewel between his central hands, he raises crystal prayer beads and the stem of an utpala flower, to symbolise his vow to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment. The subtle colouring of these original works bespeaks a timeless world of infinite patience. Yet, where formerly it took as long to copy as to create an entire thangka, with the advent of the 'giclée' or Iris print - a digital image rendered on a high-resolution ink-jet printer - museum-quality copies, faithfully mirroring the colours of the original can now be obtained. Using special archival inks on canvas or pH neutral papers, signed and limited edition copies allow for wider dissemination of the sacred art.
Such modern advances in materials apart, Padma's exquisite work is the realisation of a sustained process of creative visualisation, born from a mixture of inspiration and the meticulous application of traditional rules. Two central paradoxes shine through these tantric visions. Firstly, that a rigidly determined form liberates an artist to create instinctively anew. Secondly, that an ancient tradition shows its living strength by propagating its timeless message in the materials and methods of the day. Both conundrums testify to the unique position of this contemporary woman artist working ever closer to the heart of an age-old tradition.
© Gerard Houghton
Extracted from the October Gallery Brochure accompanying the Tantric Visisons Exhibition, 2000 ©