Discussion on Newar art in a blog

An interesting and intelligent discussion on Nepali/Newar painting is taking place at a blog these days. I want to share this feeling, looking at the height the old topic has recently gained.

On 13 August 2006, a gentleman named Lain Sinclair presented a “nice” piece of comment on Vajrayan art. The piece, entitles “Naïve Vajrayana Art (III)” which is flanked by Dinesh Charan Shrestha’s famous painting ‘Bajrayogini’. The piece can be found in www.jinajik.blospot.com

Here goes the text what he has written:

“The depiction of a deity whose visage obscures her own mandala would be considered in unthinkably poor taste in premodern Nepal. Such mutations are triggered by the needs of the thangka industry, in which output increases while profit margins and overall levels of knowledge decrease. Hence the requirement for cheap (uninformed) differentiation, to generate new 'product lines' and revenues.

The style of this Vajrayoginī reflects that of Uday & Dinesh Shrestha, whose recent oils-painted 'Annapūrna Devī' (=JñānaDākinī) at Āsan turned heads in the Kathmandu Valley. But there is miscalculation in the details as well as in the bigger picture: emaciated Cāmundā is voluptuous, while vāmana Bhairava is vīra — and these figures are extraneous to the deity's iconography anyway.

It's one of many Nepalese paintings peddled by dealer Siddhartha Shah to his mostly Californian clientele. In some cases they might be offered something semi-authentic and new: this portrait of "courting" Amoghasiddhi and Tārā is a startling example of forward thinking within tradition. But any endeavour to act as "God's Pimp", as the dealer puts it, is not likely to find much favour in the West these days.”

Though there the illustrated painting depicts Vajrayogini, the write up basically concerns Annapurna Devi.

There is no dobut, the author has deep knowledge on Newar style of thanka painting and iconography. Still, he has come up with some unacceptable words and phrases.

And after 15 months, the blog was accidentally read by Udaya Charan Shrestha, another famous artist, who had painted Annapurna, which was a topic of the blogger’s discussion.

Naturally, it caught Shrestha’s eyes and he sent his comments. And the give-and-take took place for quite some time.

Please feel free to what the healthy communication took place afterwards. I feel sorry I could not beg the blogger’s permission to cite the stuff.

“Anonymous said...

regarding the images posted to your blog, is it not true that Vajrayogini stands on Kalaratri and not Chamunda, neither of whom should be depicted as "voluptuous"?? Just curious...

2:24 PM

Anonymous said...

What is Vajrayogini ?

10:00 PM

ratna said...

This post has been removed by the author.

12:01 AM

Udaya said...

Glad to see our own Newar Ranjana script as the title "Jinajik" . I can’t say anything about other artists and their works. But I want to clear my view. – About my art work "Annapurna Devi" at Asan . First of all, it is not my recent work, I painted it in the year 1993 and was published in the local Newar newspaper "Swonegaa" as a calendar of Nepal era 1120 (almost eight years back). It is one of my most copied paintings by others. The original painting is in the collections of Mr. Narottam Das Shrestha, one of the best collectors of antiques and paintings in Nepal. After published as the calendar, one can see it everywhere in Kathmandu, framed and offering with "Khada" and Tika in most the houses, shops and Temple’s "Bhajan Ghars". It was appreciated by the contemporary artists as well.

It is not a Thanka painting or any substitute to Thanka.

Though I paint "Paubha"(Thanka ) too and my background is traditional painting. I never claim myself as a pure Thanka painter and I do not want to be one either . I study and try my level best to paint according to Iconography. Annapurna is not "Jnana Dakini" . Jnana Dakini is principal deity of the Janadakini Mandala of the Nispannayogavali . She is described thus :

"Janadakini nilasya ….. savyam suklam……….. vamam raktasringaram ……….. daksinabhujatraye urdvikrtakhatvangam parasum vajranca vamatraye ghantaraktapurnakapala,khadgah"

NSP, p. 12

Translation of above Shloka :

"Janadakini has a blue face ….the right hand is white …..the left hand is red and amorous ……….in the three right hands she carries the raised khatvanga , the axe and the vajra …In the three left hand there are the bell, the skull cup full of blood and the sword".

In some ancient inscription at Ason, Annapurna Temple, she is also called as "Annapurna Gyaneshwori"and "Yogamber Gyaneshwori" but not "Jana Dakini" anywhere.

Lastly, it takes months even years to complete a single original painting. It took eight years to complete "SHAKTI" ( 1995- 2003 ) for me . It is in the permanent collection of Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. Artists are not machines to mass product.

"Vajrayogini" not only reflects the style of Uday and Dinesh Shrestha but it was painted by Dinesh himself . In the ancient temple of "Akashayogini" (Bidhyadhari or Bijayashwori ) there is also a mandala behind the goddess which we cannot see clearly because of the main figure, though it is not considered poor taste in Nepal.

Thank you

Udaya charan Shrestha

12:49 AM

Razeno said...

Udaya Dai,

Jwajalapa. I agree with you. And also congratulate for your spirit to throw the candid comment.

Razen

8:59 PM

I. S. said...

Dear Mr. Shrestha,

Delighted to have some feedback from one of Nepal's leading painters. Allow me to briefly address your points:

- By referring to your work as "recent", I mean recent in the history of Newar painting.

- I referred to your work "Annapurna" as "oils-painted", not as a thangka.

- The Nispannayogāvalī is not the only source for iconographic prescriptions of JñānaDākinī. Perhaps you could share your source for the description of Annapurna as seen in your painting?

- The identity of the deity at the Asan Annapurna temple was confirmed to me by a purohit who performs rituals there. The ritual identity is of course the actual one, regardless of what name(s) are used in public. As you say, the inscriptions at the temple mention Yogāmbara, so it is undoubtedly associated with that deity couple.

- Traditionally a mandala is not supposed to be painted with something else covering it up. They are complete depictions of the deity and its retinue, and meant to be shown as complete. When I say that showing chunks of mandalas is poor taste, I mean poor taste according to traditional prescriptions. Though I appreciate that hardly anyone in Nepal knows what those are.

Hope this helps, yours, etc.

6:35 PM

Anonymous said...

Thank you Uday, for your comments on this web page. I never check any web page and I don’t have time to think what people saying about my art-works (specially those who doesn’t know how much time a art work takes to finished.). When I do the paintings I always follow the iconography, which were available.

Isn’t it ridicules, if some one knows about thangka (Paubha) but use “Thangka Industry” for the Artist who paints thangkas. If you do only those things which these types of web page says OK, then you never can do a new things. Do you know what, I did Vajrayogini as contemporary art in oil paints and that is not Thangka but Len Sinclair using “unthinkable pore test, profit, cheap and new product line” these words for my painting. I don’t understand what he thinks about art? Art is not a goods, which produce in Industry.

Dinesh C Shrestha

11:01 AM

Anonymous said...

I will forever be astonished by Western "experts" proclaiming their profound understanding of Eastern culture to us "Easterners". It's not even worth discussing really...

11:50 AM

I. S. said...

No expertise is needed to point out simple mistakes. This is basic stuff. And try not to worry too much about whether information comes from "Western experts" or "us Easterners". Yours respectfully, etc.”

I don’t have much to say about it. But it is important piece of discussion to show that though we Newars have little time to think about what our grandfathers have left for us, foreigners have spent plenty of energy to study on Newar iconography. We should thank them for really taking our heritage to the whole world.

On the other hand, we also should be aware of what is being written in public about our art, culture and tradition. One person’s wrong information in the Internet may cause havoc among new scholars of Newar art and culture. The authors, bloggers and others should pay little more attention to respect what we have gained in past 1,000 years. It is not a matter of Western experts and Easterns. It is a matter of fact and understanding the fact. All, who love to study and write about somebody’s culture, should be very much careful that their one intentional or unintentional word can hurt feeling of six hundred thousand people, who have done no harm to the westerners or others.

For example, how can somebody be “God’s pimp”?