Lesson One: The Iconography of Himalayan Buddhist Art

Objectives:

This lesson encourages teachers to take advantage of a truly wonderful website created by the education department of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in NYC. The website, exploreart.org, is excellent as a resource for students engaged in independent research, but it can also work well as a catalyst for class conversation about art and iconography.

Procedure:

Begin by watching the three short videos on portraiture, protection images, and narrative painting at exploreart.org. After each, ask one student to summarize the video and take time for questions. Then look closely at two or three paintings and decode the symbols and discuss their meaning.

Assessment:

Either as homework or an in-class freewrite, ask students to answer one or all of the following questions:

1. Imagine you commissioned an artist to paint a portrait of you to your specifications. Describe to the artist what you would want the portrait to look like and why. Consider what you would like to be wearing, what other objects you might like in the painting, what background or pose you might like to be in, where you would want your portrait to be displayed (if you want it displayed at all).

2. Himalayan cultures have deities designed to protect them from the perils of life and these deities have certain characteristics (fierce appearance, armor, weapons) that make them specially suited for their job. Reflect on what sorts of forces you need protection against on a regular basis. Describe or draw a protection deity that represents your own needs.

3. Narrative art, art that tells a story in pictures, is important in many cultures, especially those in which many people can not read or write. In Buddhism, narrative paintings often retell popular parables, called Jataka tales, which tell stories about the Buddha's previous lives. Choose a Jataka story from The Baldwin Project website and narrate the story in visual form. A comic book style works particularly well, but be creative!