Mandalas
Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet
Published on 24. September 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-58839-782-9 (ISBN)
Description
Exploring the significance of Tibetan mandalas from their ancient origins to the present day, this gorgeously illustrated volume provides a contemporary perspective on a centuries-old Buddhist model of the universe
A New York Times "Best Art Book of 2024"
A mandala is a diagram of the universe-a map of true reality intended to provide a focus for Buddhist religious practice and inspire the devout. This book highlights the distinctive Tibetan approach to creating mandalas, exploring how the form crossed over from India into Tibet, and how continuous exchanges of art and ideas between the two cultures, led by monks and spiritual teachers, gave rise to a uniquely Tibetan style of Buddhist imagery. Featuring more than one hundred paintings, sculptures, and ritual objects, this superbly illustrated volume reflects the dazzling complexities of the Tibetan imagery that has provided a foundation for mandalas through the centuries. Most notably, a mesmerizing installation by the Tibetan-American artist Tenzing Rigdol (b. 1982), specially created for the accompanying exhibition and published here for the first time, offers contemporary audiences a way of interrogating and understanding their world and underscores how this ancient tradition remains a vibrant living practice.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(September 19, 2024-January 12, 2025)
A New York Times "Best Art Book of 2024"
A mandala is a diagram of the universe-a map of true reality intended to provide a focus for Buddhist religious practice and inspire the devout. This book highlights the distinctive Tibetan approach to creating mandalas, exploring how the form crossed over from India into Tibet, and how continuous exchanges of art and ideas between the two cultures, led by monks and spiritual teachers, gave rise to a uniquely Tibetan style of Buddhist imagery. Featuring more than one hundred paintings, sculptures, and ritual objects, this superbly illustrated volume reflects the dazzling complexities of the Tibetan imagery that has provided a foundation for mandalas through the centuries. Most notably, a mesmerizing installation by the Tibetan-American artist Tenzing Rigdol (b. 1982), specially created for the accompanying exhibition and published here for the first time, offers contemporary audiences a way of interrogating and understanding their world and underscores how this ancient tradition remains a vibrant living practice.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(September 19, 2024-January 12, 2025)
Reviews / Votes
"[This] catalog, with lead essays by the curator, Kurt Behrendt, is packed with fabulous images, of goddesses as lithe as ABT dancers, holy men who unflappably levitate as you look, and demonic-looking deities whose mission it is to keep agents of chaos-which proliferate these days-out."-Holland Cotter, New York Times, "Best Art Books of 2024"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
175 color illus.
Dimensions
Height: 271 mm
Width: 240 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
1370 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-58839-782-9 (9781588397829)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification