I took the time in between classes to visit the museum not entirely sure what I would find there. There were a bunch of students there on a guided tour and I thought to myself, “hey , i’m a student” so I just moved in and took the tour with them. I’ve seen art like this before but I was never really impressed with it but I knew it was entirely due to my ignorance on the cultural relevance behind it. Art can be as much of a timeline as anything else. It’s not just aesthetic but tells a story of time and a culture. Yet the multiple of characters and expressions and the colors all seemed a bit too “busy” for my untrained eye. However after carefully listening to the guide speak about the cloth painting of Mahakala, Vajra Panjarnata I found myself curious about everything. Why was the first buddha considered “void”, are all the rest direct decedents or pupils of the “primordial” buddha? Why do the demons have blue skin? Do various teachings of subsequent buddha’s contradict one another? I got most of my questions answered before I was found out by the teacher and asked to be quiet because they were on a schedule. Either way I plan to go back. I’m not crazy about the art but the stories behind them are fascinating and having a guide that provides historical reasons behind the art was very… enlightening.
Also the lion statues reminded me of my cat.
