Visitor Information
| The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan  Honolulu Academy of Arts
February 23 – May 23, 2008 Exhibition Hours: |
Admission: $20 ($10 museum entrance plus $10 special exhibition fee); Members and children 12 and under are free. Admission is free to The Academy Shop, The Pavilion Café, The Robert Allerton Research Library, and the Academy Art Center. Further questions: Please call (808) 532-8700 Betsy Robb, Curator of Education, has created a Gallery Guide to accompany The Dragon's Gift. |
About the exhibition
Organized by the Honolulu Academy of Arts in conjunction with the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of the Royal Government of Bhutan, The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan is one of the most ambitious and eagerly anticipated exhibitions of Buddhist art in many years. The exhibition transports visitors to a distant Himalayan kingdom where Buddhism and Buddhist rituals are a vital part of daily life. On display are sacred works of art which, with few exceptions, have never been on view before outside of Bhutan.
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The Dragon’s Gift explores Bhutan’s cosmology through the window of its sacred visual arts and ritual dance (cham), using Buddhism as a lens through which to explore Bhutanese culture in its full historical, philosophical, religious, and artistic perspectives. The exhibition includes more than one hundred works of art. Exhibited materials include thangkas (textile mounted paintings), sculptures, metalwork, textiles, and ritual objects, all made for use in a Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhist context. These works of sacred art range in date from the 7th through 19th centuries A.D. All of these objects required conservation in varying degrees, work which was done through training programs in Bhutan and at the Asian Painting Conservation Studio at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
This exhibition introduces such key Buddhist masters in Bhutan’s history as Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche, 8th century), Pema Lingpa (1450-1521, a famous “Treasure Revealer”), Drukpa Kunley (1455-1529, the “Divine Madman”), and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651), and important religious figures such as Buddhas, Bodhisattvas (including the powerful female deities Tara and Vajrayogini), and wrathful deities (including Mahakala and Yamantaka).
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In a major innovation, the exhibition also explores the ancient ritual Buddhist dance and movement tradition known as cham, as a fundamental manifestation of Bhutan’s religious culture. Cham is a form of danced yoga in Tantric Buddhism. Indeed, “The Dragon’s Gift” is the first exhibition of its kind in having been jointly organized by art historians and dance historians. Unlike the situation in many other areas of the Himalayas, such as Tibet, where ancient traditions of Cham are threatened (for example, in Tibet and Ladhakh), the Cham of Bhutan has been preserved largely intact.
One of the primary contributions of “The Dragon’s Gift” is its exploration of the ancient arts of a living culture, and its demonstration that the visual arts and traditions of sacred movement are two manifestations of the same cosmology. These parallel explorations are motivated by the realization that the Buddhist dances of Bhutan embody and convey the same ontological, mythological, and philosophical underpinnings embodied in the visual arts, which together reinforce the fundamental values and worldview of Bhutanese culture. A gallery devoted to Cham is located within the exhibition and in several cases digital screens showing Cham are located alongside works of art.
History of The Dragon’s Gift
The idea for this exhibition was first proposed by Ephraim (Eddie) Jose, Asian Paintings Conservator at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. In the summer of 2003 Dr. Stephen Little, Director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts; Guest Curator Terese Tse Bartholomew, Curator of Himalayan Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; and Eddie Jose traveled to Bhutan and presented an initial exhibition proposal to Mr. Phuntsho, an official in the Department of Culture in Thimphu. While our proposal was graciously received, it took several months for the document to make its way through official channels within the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, and eventually to the Council of Ministers.
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In April of 2004 project members, including Dr. Stephen Little, Terese Tse Bartholomew, Eddie Jose, Dr. Reda Sobky, a physician and specialist on Vajrayana Buddhism who has functioned as the exhibition’s Buddhist content advisor, Joseph Houseal, Executive Director of Core of Culture Dance Preservation in Chicago, and his associate Gerard Houghton, London-based Director of Technology for Core of Culture, returned to Bhutan. By this time the exhibition proposal had been formally approved by the Council of Ministers, with the blessing of His Majesty the Fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The exhibition had been in its formal planning phase since 2003, when a Memorandum of Understanding between the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Royal Government of Bhutan was drafted, beginning a lengthy review process. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Thimphu on June 21, 2004, and on April 5, 2005, a formal Exhibition Agreement was signed in Thimphu Dzong (Trashichödzong), in presence of His Excellency Lyonpo Jigmi Y Thinley, Minister of Home and Cultural Affairs, Dasho Penden Wangchuk, Secretary of the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Dasho Sangay Wangchuk, Director of the Department of Culture, Mr. Phuntsho, Project Coordinator, Mr. Tsewang Gyalpo, Head, Department of Cultural Properties, Mr. Thinley Gyamtsho, Director of the Royal Academy of Performing Arts, the Dagchong, Chief Administrator of the Dratshang (Central Monastic Body), and the curatorial delegation from the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Within a few days of the signing ceremony, the Academy team commissioned a Buddhist puja (ritual) to express thanks for the opportunity to organize The Dragon’s Gift, and to ensure the well–being of the individuals and sacred works involved in the exhibition’s realization. The curatorial team was granted an audience in Trashichödzong with His Holiness Je Khenpo Jigme Chhoeda, the Chief Abbot of Bhutan, who formally blessed the project and its participants. The Je Khenpo is the leader of the Central Monastic Authority (Dratsang), the leader of the Drukpa Kagyu school of Buddhism, the primary arbiter in matters of religious doctrine, and the key spiritual advisor to the King (known as the Druk Gyalpo).
Shortly after these events, the curatorial team was kindly given full access to the photographic archives of Bhutanese Cultural Properties kept at the Department of Culture in Thimphu. Here the initial process of selecting works of art for inclusion in the exhibition began. From a survey of several thousand works, an initial working group of five hundred works was chosen, from which the final selection would be made.
Throughout the planning phase, the Academy, the Department of Culture, and the Central Monastic Authority worked closely together to identify the finest and most appropriate works of art for inclusion in the exhibition. It is especially significant that His Holiness the Je Khenpo and the Five Lopons (the second tier of high–ranking monks) fully supported the project from its inception, for the simple reason that the majority of Bhutan’s sacred works of art are housed in the Buddhist temples, not in museums.
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For more than a year and a half John Johnston, Assistant Curator for The Dragon’s Gift, visited temples, monasteries, and fortresses searching for works of art to include in the exhibition. In some cases the existence of these objects was known from the photographic archive, though the majority of thangkas and sculptures found in this fieldwork were hitherto unknown to the exhibition organizers. In total, Johnston visited more than 200 sacred sites. On these site visits he was always accompanied by a monk and government official and conformed to strict local protocol on proper conduct at religious sites. Throughout the project Academy staff were sensitive and respectful that these “works of art” are deeply cherished by the Bhutanese as holy items and important implements used on the journey to enlightenment.
Once the final checklist of exhibits began to take form, the curatorial team proposed the organization of a formal Iconography Workshop, the purpose of which was to bring many of the leading scholars of Bhutanese Buddhist art and texts together to help the curators correctly identify the deities and iconography of the exhibition’s works of art. The Iconography Workshop was held in Thimphu from April 26-28, 2006, and brought together Bhutanese experts in the fields of art, history, and Buddhist studies to review and discuss the objects under consideration. Among the thirteen distinguished Bhutanese participants were highly revered senior monks, present and past Directors of the National Museum and the National Library of Bhutan, outstanding painters and sculptors, and prominent scholars. These indigenous sources helped identify complex points of Buddhist iconography, and explain the importance of these images in Buddhist practice. Bartholomew, Johnston, and Sobky showed images of more than 200 works of art from the tentative selection list, and presented their initial research findings. The Iconography Workshop began a richly rewarding cross-cultural conversation between the Western discipline of art history and the living Buddhist tradition of Bhutan.
As research progressed on the works of art in the exhibition, the Academy proposed that under the guidance of His Eminence Tsugla Lopon Samten Dorji (one of the Five Lopons), five learned monks would review and research the works scheduled for inclusion in the exhibition, with particular emphasis on the liturgical sources that serve as the textual basis for many of these items. This working group, entitled the Sacred Literature Reference Group, met in a quiet home on the outskirts of Thimphu from February to May, 2007. To access the lesser-known and more esoteric sacred texts required for this research, monks visited temple libraries, or had the relevant texts brought to Thimphu from mountain monasteries. These monks frequently consulted with project representatives to determine which items required further research. The Sacred Literature Reference Group was an unprecedented research and writing effort coordinated between the Buddhist community in Bhutan and the exhibition’s curatorial team.
The cultural partnership formed between the Academy and the Royal Government of Bhutan was thus in many ways unique. Working with the Department of Culture, the Central Monastic Body and the Royal Academy of Performing Arts, the Honolulu Academy of Arts has created a multi–year cultural and artistic exchange program with several noteworthy components. The final outcome of these many years of research in Bhutan is the exhibition The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan.
Exhibition Catalogue
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A fully illustrated and scholarly exhibition catalogue is one of the major contributions of The Dragon’s Gift (sample page).
Nearly all of the works of art presented in the catalogue are from active temples and monasteries and remain in ritual use. Most of the items are painted or textile thangkas or gilt bronze sculptures which date primarily from the 17th to the 19th centuries – a golden age in the Buddhist arts of Bhutan. Ranging from depictions of Tantric deities to individualized portraits of Buddhist masters, the exhibition and catalogue present outstanding works of art with a wide iconographic scope.
Complementing the presentation of sacred works of art is the documentation of the ancient cham dances of Bhutan, to which the dance preservation team was given privileged entrée.Having documented more than 300 hours of sacred and secular dances, they have made a first assay of one of the few surviving treasures of the trans-Himalayan movement tradition. A brief sampling of the variety of extant dance lineages – some many centuries old – is included on the DVD contained within the catalogue.
Lavishly illustrated, the catalogue also includes twelve essays contributed by leading Bhutanese and Western scholars, covering various aspects of the Bhutanese arts. Contributors include: Dr. Stephen Little, Ven. Lopön Pemala, Ven. Khenpo Phuntsok Tashi, Terese Tse Bartholomew, John Johnston, Dr. Karma Phuntsho, Dr. David Jackson, Dr. John A. Ardussi, Dr. Yonten Dargye, Dr. Per K. Sørensen, Dorji Yangki, Ephraim Jose, Mark Fenn, and Joseph Houseal.
This exhibition is organized by the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Department of Culture, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan.
The art conservation, dance preservation, and educational programs of The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan are made possible through the lead support of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
Major support for The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan is provided by the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Michael and Patricia O’Neill Charitable Fund, Susan Pillsbury, Le Burta G. Atherton, the Freeman Foundation, Druk Airlines (the Royal Bhutan Airlines), Hotels & Resorts of Halekulani, and Japan Airlines. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hiroaki, Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation, Marc Benioff, David and Cecilia Lee, Judith Dion Pyle, Charles and Maryanna Stockholm, the Asian Cultural Council, the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, Pamela Ebsworth, John and Heather Little, and Susan O’Connor.
