PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
This article was downloaded by:
On: 15 February 2011
Access details: Access Details: Free Access
Publisher Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-
41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Visual Anthropology
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713654067
Buddha's Painter
Marilyn Walkera
; Ann Shaftelb
a
Dept. of Anthropology, Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada b
Asian Art Consultant,
Halifax, N.S., Canada
To cite this Article Walker, Marilyn and Shaftel, Ann(2008) 'Buddha's Painter', Visual Anthropology, 21: 2, 173 — 175
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/08949460701857628
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08949460701857628
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf
This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or
systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or
distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents
will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses
should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss,
actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly
or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Buddha’s Painter
Buddha’s Painter (Buddhas Maler), film by Thomas Gonschior,
2004; DVD, 55 min. Distributor: www.indieflix.com.
From the perspective of its primary narrator, the Buddhist Lama Purevbat,
the film discusses the revival of Buddhist art, specifically thangka painting,
in Mongolia today. The Lama’s personal story is a captivating one. As he tells
it, he grew up in the countryside and loved to paint as a child. This drew him
to Ulaan Baatar, the capital city of Mongolia, where he studied traditional
Mongolian painting. Realizing that he needed to master Buddhist art, he became
a monk and brought the art of thangka painting back to Mongolia from the
Dalai Lama’s school in Dharamsala, India.
The film was shot primarily at the Mongolian Institute of Buddhist Art in
Ulaan Baatar. Interviews with the Lama and his students are interspersed with
landscape shots and shots of Buddhist monasteries and of the standing stones,
including the ‘‘deerstones’’ that are found across Central Asia and into Europe,
and other topics.
The continuing threads throughout the film are the history of Buddhist art
in Mongolia and art as the basis of Buddhism. We are told how Buddhist art
was introduced from Tibet and flourished, then almost disappeared when
communism took over in the 1930s. We are shown chilling evidence of the mass
killings and mass graves under this repressive regime, as well as how monasteries
are being rebuilt throughout Mongolia now that it is independent. One
such restoration project is the building of a stupa with bricks made from the
murdered monk’s cremated remains. Thus, the monks hope to expiate this dark
era and contribute to the renaissance Buddhism is undergoing in Mongolia
today.
Lama Purevbat describes how a thangka painting is thought out beforehand
(‘‘You don’t make decisions while you are painting’’), and how the traditional
model must be followed. The Lama instructs his pupils in the conventions, showing
the geometry of the drawings that underlie a painting to ensure the correct
proportions. As a deity embodies inner perfection, we are told, a thangka artist
has to reach a high spiritual level attained by strict discipline (endurance
and patience) and the following of precise guidelines. ‘‘What we learn here,’’
the Lama explains, ‘‘is a way to enlightenment.’’
The film is beautiful—visually and aurally. Anthropology students who
viewed it commented on the music and how well the soundtrack was linked with
the imagery. It begins with Chod practice (generally a hidden practice), but the
Visual Anthropology, 21: 173–175, 2008
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0894-9468 print=1545-5920 online
DOI: 10.1080/08949460701857628
173
DownloadedAt:14:3215February2011
informed viewer wonders how this will relate to Mongolian Buddhist art. Here,
as in what follows, the viewer needs a context for the montage of images and
ideas. Without an overview, it is difficult to follow the main themes and to
understand how the disparate parts relate. The film moves from Chod practice
to art school to politics, then back to art. As one of our students put it, ‘‘I just
got interested in something and the film went on to something else.’’ It is not
until the head teacher of the art school discusses thangka art specifically that
the focus of the film becomes apparent. (Thangka art, incidentally, is never clearly
defined for the novice.)
There are some sweeping generalizations that misinform about Mongolian
history; for example, the Lama’s claim that ‘‘the traditional Mongolian culture
is Buddhist culture.’’ The deerstone and other standing stones that are cut into
the storyline, ostensibly to convey a sense of history and of place, predate
Buddhism in Mongolia. The comment ignores the ancestral tradition—shamanism—
upon which Buddhism (introduced from Tibet in the 16th century) was superimposed.
Both traditions suffered under repressive regimes and both are undergoing
a revival in Mongolia. Today, Buddhism is the official state religion of
Mongolia, but many Mongolians remain shamanists or blend shamanism and
Buddhism in their beliefs and practices.
While the focus of the film is Mongolia, it would be beneficial to show how
Mongolian art is different from other Himalayan Buddhist art. While this was
briefly discussed in the depiction of animals, Bo¨n art also has animals in the
thangka paintings. In the paintings that we do see, the colors appear fresh
and modern, and are presumably synthetic. One wonders why there was not
some discussion of how and why the use of traditional earth colors mixed with
yak-hide glue has been replaced with what the students were learning to use.
Such a discussion could include thangka painting technique as well as the
social, economic, and political changes that have affected Buddhist thangkas
in Mongolia.
While one of us liked hearing the Lama’s voice as the main narrator (in
Mongolian), there were problems with reading the English subtitles when the
white text was superimposed over white backgrounds. (Minor spelling errors
could easily be corrected.) The filmmaker makes the views of his main speaker
preeminent and gives a sense of the film as a collaborative venture. This is a
strong point of the film, but it also means that the filmmaker’s vision is compromised;
consequently, the film lacks cohesion.
This is an ‘‘indie’’ film by Thomas Gonschior Productions. It may be ordered
online (at a very modest price) from a company that offers distribution opportunities
for an interesting range of films without mainstream distribution channels.
We would like to be able to recommend this film for university-level courses in
anthropology, religious studies, Central Asian history, Mongolian studies, or fine
arts. Certainly it is relevant to the revitalization that Mongolia is undergoing and
to the place of Buddhism in its future. It would be difficult, however, for a
student or novice to benefit from the complex ideas the film addresses without
174 Film Reviews
DownloadedAt:14:3215February2011
an instructor familiar with the material. The necessary broader context is missing
from the film itself. It tries to do too many things at once for an audience that is
too general.
Marilyn Walker
Dept. of Anthropology
Mount Allison University
New Brunswick, Canada
mwalker@mta.ca
and
Ann Shaftel
Asian Art Consultant
Halifax, N.S.
Canada
annshaftel@mac.com
Film Reviews 175
DownloadedAt:14:3215February2011