“Tibet’s Living Art,” the new exhibit at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies, displays the Buddhist-spiritual paintings, called Thangka, of Tibetan painter Jampa Tsondue. Tsondue’s colorful and extremely detailed Thangkas capture the essence of Buddhist deities and convey the spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism.
Thangka paintings must reflect the specific characteristics of different deities. Creating a Thangka, therefore, is a detail-oriented process, as each painting requires a mastery of the poses and proportions of each deity.
“The painting doesn’t have to be of a deity but if it is the deity itself…you cannot change [it],” Tsondue said. “We have to draw according to the [iconographic] books. You have to memorize all the measurements [of the face and body].”
Though the natural backgrounds–mountains, water, flowers, and clouds – are creations of the artists’ imaginations, Thangka paintings have strict religious guidelines. Each deity has specific colors and signature positions and holds.
The paintings are made with mineral paints that are difficult to find in the United States. These paints, mixed with animal hide glue and water, produce vibrant colors on the canvas. The details of gold leaf found in many of Tsondue’s paintings are made from a mixture of ground-up gold dust suspended in water. Gold is particularly difficult to work with, but Tsondue has mastered it.
“The gold paint is 24k,” Tsondue said. “It is a very important element of Thangka. It is used on deities to show greatness and benevolence.”
Both the creation and the viewing of the paintings are spiritual experiences.
“Because these are religious paintings, we are supposed to pray, say a little mantra before we begin painting,” Tsondue said. “Once we start painting, it’s like meditation. When we do the faces we recite short prayer three times.”
For the Thangka painters, the ultimate goal is to create an image that helps the viewer with his or her own spiritual development.
Tsondue discussed, along with the technical aspects of Thangka painting, his artistic and familial background.
“In my family I was the first Thangka painter,” he said. “We fled from Tibet in 1959. I was born on the border of India in Kalimpong, Tibet. There were few artists in Tibet. Daughters are not Thangka painters. In Tibetan culture women are very important, but men are the painters.”
Tsondue grew up in democratic India, and had the opportunity to learn to paint. His neighbor, a former Buddhist monk, taught Tsondue, along with a handful of his peers, the tedious mechanics of Thangka. Tsondue later followed his instructor to the Gyudmed Tantric Monastery, where he made traditional Thangka wall paintings, as well as shrines and painting on furniture.
Tsondue came to the United States in 1992 under George H.W. Bush’s program for the resettlement of Tibetan refugees in India. He worked in restoration work at the United States Capitol, and currently lives in Old Saybrook where he continues to create Thangka paintings.
The exhibit and workshop drew an eclectic mix of students, faculty and Middletown residents. Some came for Tsondue’s artistic ingenuity and some for the paintings’ religious significance.
“I appreciate the tediousness of the painting [process], especially in today’s fast paced world,” said Paul Hiam ’09. “His soft spoken good cheer warmed my heart on this cold day.”
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