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Jesus was a Buddha
2004
acrylic, board
36 in x 18 in
photo by J R Compton
Click image to
see larger, more detailed version.
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Thanks Bibliography
List of Works
Texan Book of the Dead
The so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead
(more accurately translated as The Great
Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding
in the Between) presents psychological insights into the process
of death and dying according to Buddhist wisdom. It is a kind of
guidebook through the process — before, during and after.
The Texan Book
of the Dead, very simplistically, considers the
mostly extreme, mostly opposite Western view of death and life,
one that, even in death, seeks permanence. In other words, clean
restrooms on the road to eternal life.
For some of the show, I've reverently
borrowed from sacred Tibetan artworks, although it may definitely
not appear so. One of the
works is an attempt to imitate the soft and swirly style of Tibetan
tangka painting (Jesus was a Buddha, left). Some use a Tibetan
art form (The Eye of Texas Anndala, Sympathy Banner, Obituary Flags,
below) and
attach Tex-Christian symbology.
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Some are scenes from randomly-visited Texas cemeteries
and roadside memorials (R.I.P., Very Still Life). Some simply illuminate
the drama and melodrama
of the engraved word (Epitaph Lilies, Graven Images). Some works have nothing
to do with death (The Eye of Texas and Jesus).
But all either relate to something
Tibetan, something Texan, something sacred, or something dead.
If you're interested in a scholarly thesis, you'll not find it here. There
are many places to go for such knowledge and would be well worth your effort
to pursue.
No — this is just for fun. And I hope not too abstract. (Sometimes
I think my mind is like a shopping cart with a bad wheel — it will
hold a lot of goodies, but it's obnoxious and unbalanced, you have to fight
to control it, little things fall through the bottom, and people look at
you funny.)
That said, if you learn a thing or two from this, I'd be overjoyed!
Or as our beloved friend, The Dalai Lama, says:
"It is my hope, therefore, that
everyone visiting this exhibition may find in it inspiration and understanding
that in
some way contribute to their own
inner peace."
Ann Huey ~ October 2004
Taken wholly out of context and used to suit my
selfish purposes — he was really speaking about The
Mystical Arts of Tibet exhibit.
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The Eye of Texas "Anndala" /
2004 / mixed
media / 42 in round
photo by Rita Barnard
Mandala is the Sanskrit word for sand painting. The
paintings are never used in secular ceremonies, rather for the healing of
living beings or the environment, world peace, prosperity or for transformation
and
enlightenment. Sand paintings are used as tools for reconsecrating the earth
and its inhabitants.The ancient art has a traditional and prescribed iconography
of geometric shapes and symbols. All have outer, inner and secret meanings.
The mandala form is seen throughout the Himalayan and Central Asian regions,
and the Native North Americans took it with them across the Bering Strait
on their migration 20,000 years ago.
The mandala, translated as "cosmogram" or sacred
circle," is
common in India and is used in a variety of ceremonies such as a celebration
of birth, marriage, or death.
It takes four monks about seven days and about
a million billion heavenly-colored grains of sand, ground flowers, seeds
or precious gems to complete a mandala.
It is immediately swept up and poured into a body of water to symbolize the
impermanence of all that exists.
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It took me about seven weeks and a lot of fuzzy and glittery material, paper,
plastic and carbohydrates to complete The Eye of Texas, my anndala — or
circle of crap. The items have been glued, screwed, wired and stapled to
symbolize the Western desire for permanence.
The title spoofs an old favorite, The Eyes of Texas, a
song whose catchy tune belies a perfectly horrid thought!
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
all the live long day.
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
you cannot get away.
Do not think you can escape them
at night or early in the morn.
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
til Gabriel blows his horn.
This piece is not about death, but the eternal
nature of junk.
Pillar banners are
colorful silk brocade pennants traditionally draped on the pillars inside
the main assembly halls of Tibetan monasteries. They are marked
by a set of eyes symbolizing the omniscience of the Buddha. Below are Tibetan
transliterations of the three Sanskrit syllables — Om, Ah, Hum — symbolizing
the body, speech and mind of the Buddha.
Sympathy Banner, 2004
mixed media
72 in x 20 in
Sympathy Banner exalts the
ordinary $1.99 sympathy card. The cross at the top symbolizes the crucifixion
of Jesus and the Holy Trinity — Father, Son, Holy Ghost. The stars
represent both the Lone Star State and a state of celestial existence. The
large Tibetan-style eye can be that of God, Buddha, Big Brother, The Eye
of Texas, whatever. It weeps the blood of Christ, so central to orthodox
belief, but also tears of sympathy for those lost.
top: Obituary Flags / 2004 / newspaper
obituaries,
bandanas, hankies, string
on far wall: Jesus was a Buddha
on right: R. I. P../ 2004 / grave snapshots,
fake rose /
(approximately) 30 in x 60 in
photo by Rita Barnard
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Each Tibetan Prayer Flag is
cotton printed with text that includes various transliterated Sanskrit mantras
and Tibetan prayers for averting obstacles,
and for the increase of luck and prosperity. Such flags are traditionally
placed at high mountain passes so that their prayers and good wishes will
be carried on the wind to the sentient beings in all directions.
An obituary is a death announcement usually published in a newspaper or
other periodical. Some pay elaborate, heart-breaking tribute to a loved one,
some pay less and are the sparest of vital information.
Obituary Flags are newspaper obituaries mounted on bandanas and hankies.
My mother started me out on a so-far lifelong interest in cemeteries. She
was a birdwatcher, an historical marker-reader, and a cemetery cruiser. Road
trips were a series of heart-gulping hard-braking stops for birds, markers
and cemeteries, the variety of which proportionate to the length of the trip.
My mom considered even the dinkiest of trips an adventure along which we
became explorers of the historic, the hysteric, the curious, the historically
curious, and the curiously hysteric.
Very Still Life: Son (Hood Cemetery) , gouache, 2004
7 in x 5 in
We were especially charged by cemetery extremes: the oldest grave, the gaudiest
grave, the weirdest names on the grave, the most dead infant graves. We loved
to be wowed by a well-carved stone or have our hearts broken by a crudely
poignant epitaph.
Very Still Life: Pocohuntas (Petland Memorial Gardens),
gouache, 2004
7 in x 5 in
I love cemeteries because everything is there — life, death, wealth,
poverty, status, taste, humor, bad grammar, drama, faith, hope, lost hope,
dreams and dreams deferred, and usually fire ants always love. Some hide their stories — others can't.
Very Still Life: Strong (Old Prospect Cemetery),
gouache, 2004
7 in x 5 in
What my mom would call the"tacky" graves are my favorite. They're
colorful, imaginative and are ignorant of or indifferent to the artistically
harmonious in their choice of adornment.
Very Still Life: J.D. (Highway 287,
Kounntze, Texas, gouache, 2004
7 in x 5 in
A toy truck, a plastic "Happy
Birthday" sign, broken ceramic teddy bears, rotten photographs,
crosses, Jesuses, angels, poems, prayers, song lyrics, sports paraphernalia,
kitsch
and more kitsch. And the ever-after infinity of fake post-historic
flowers, some varieties so unusual, they exist only in the world
of plastic botany.
Very Still Life: Pa-pa (Old Prospect Cemetery),
gouache, 2004
7 in x 5 in
But what always emerges from behind those garishly artificial faces is as
sincere and purely powerful as white marble.
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top: Obituary Flags / 2004 / newspaper
obituaries,
bandanas, hankies, string
right: Sympathy Banner, 2004, mixed
media, 72 in x 20 in
photo by Rita Barnard
I believe it is extremely important that we extend our understanding of each
other's sacred traditions. This is not necessarily in order that we
can adopt them ourselves, but because to do so increases our opportunities
for mutual respect. Sometimes, too, we encounter something in another tradition
that helps us better appreciate something in our own. After all, the fundamental
aim of all religions is to help us to become better human beings and to create
a happier, more peaceful world.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama - June
8, 1996
foreword from The Mystical Arts of Tibet
by Glenn H. Mullin and Andy Weber
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THANKS
Thanks to the folks above, and below ground, who gave me something to laugh,
cry and think about.
Big Springs Cemetery
(Old) Frankford Cemetery
Plano, Texas
Garden of Memories
Elkhart, Texas
Greenwood Cemetery
Dallas, Texas
Hooks Cemetery
Kountze, Texas
Old Hardin Cemetery
Kountze, Texas
Old Prospect Cemetery
Kountze, Texas
Petland Memorial Gardens
DeSoto, Texas
Rawlins Cemetery
Lancaster, Texas
Shady Grove Cemetery
Tennessee Colony Cemetery
Tennessee Colony, Texas
Graven Images, 2004
fake clay, Gravesite Carpet
10 in x 38 in
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Mystical Arts of Tibet exhibition text
by Glenn H. Mullin and Andy Weber,
Longstreet Press, Inc.
© 1996 Drepung Loseling Monastery and Oglethorpe
University Museum
Sacred Visions Early Paintings from
Central Tibet
Steven M. Kossak and Jane Casey Singer
© 1998 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
translated by Robert A. F. Thurman
Bantam Books
© 1994 Robert A. F. Thurman
University of Virginia Library
Special Collections Department www.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/dead/intro
The
Yellow Rose of Texas /
The Eyes of Texas
Music by Wise-Starr / Lance-Sinclair
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LIST of WORKS
1.
Día de los Poms
2001
poms, board
60 in x 30 in
2.
Jesus was a Buddha
2004
acrylic, board
36 in x 18 in
3.
Obituary Flags
2004
newspaper obituaries,
bandanas, hankies, string
4.
Very Still Life: Strong — Old Prospect Cemetery
2004
gouache
7 in x 5 in
5.
Very Still Life: Pocohuntas — Petland
Memorial Garden
2004
gouache
7 in x 5 in
6.
Very Still Life: Pa-Pa — Old Prospect Cemetery
2004
gouache
7 in x 5 in
7.
Sympathy Banner
2004
mixed media
72 in x 20 in
8.
Very Still Life: Son — Hooks Cemetery
2004
gouache
7 in x 5 in
9.
Very Still Life: Boopa Kinski — Petland Memorial Gardens
2004
gouache
7 in x 5 in
10.
Very Still Life: J.D. — Highway 287, Kountze, Texas
2004
gouache
7 in x 5 in
11.
The Eye of Texas "Anndala"
2004
mixed
media
42 in round
12.
Graven Images
2004
fake clay, outdoor carpet
10 in x 38 in
13.
R. I. P.
2004
grave snapshots, fake rose
(approximately) 30 in x 60 in
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