The Rubin is Guggenheim’s darker, lesser known, twin sister, which does not mean to say that she is any less interesting. The rustic simplicity of the humble five floors is connected by a spiral staircase, winding up to the translucent dome that offers little to the dimly lit space. On the floors, bodhisattvas dance, buddhas smile serenely through glass, the hum of prayers from Tibet, India, Japan, China and Korea swirl together to form the pieces of The Rubin Museum.
The museum offers a narrative on the changing of Buddhism as it traveled across Asia. At first, it is almost like walking through a Buddhist manual where pieces placed in glass cases, lit by perfectly angled lighting– artifacts, are dubbed art by their age and beauty. This “art,” however, had other intended purposes. Manuals, prayer beads, idols, healing mats, and shrines served particular religious purposes before being showcased as art.
The collection of religiously influenced pieces from Eastern Asia show the movement of Buddhism from India to as far as Northern Mongolia, Indonesia, and Japan from as early as 5000 BCE. The gallery has a broad variety of works from ink paintings, clay, wood, metal, and stone sculptures, tapestries, and other mediums. As the pieces are from such different places with a broad time period from when they were created, they begin to meld together to form a story, or narrative about Buddhism as it traveled, grew, and changed. Minute differences in interpretation of the religion caused fissures in the faith but resulted in a beautiful variation of art work.
From a distance and at first, the museum looks like a one hit wonder, with a lot of types of things that are in fact the same thing. But in fact, each piece has its own unique history. The works vary in their age and point of origin, and in this offer different interpretations of Buddhism. As Buddhism changed the culture of places it went, culture changed Buddhism. Thus the hugely different cultures that had already existed in Asia at the time became unified under a similar belief system, yet retained their own identity through their own interpretations of the belief.
Curators work to produce a linear development of Buddhist art, explaining significance and technique as you spiral down the staircase. Videos playing on loops explain the science and pain staking process of making some of these pieces, diagrams show the mathematics involved in planning a detailed drawing, interactive maps show the movement of the religion, and diagrams show the significance behind every minute positioning of the body. The artists’ amazing attention to detail resulted in pristine and as-close-to-perfect-as-perfect-can-get creations.
Siddhartha Gautama aimed to live a simple and peaceful life, thus creating the huge religion that is Buddhism, a religion founded on living a simple life to avoid pain and suffering. Ironically resulting in the creation of statues made of precious metals and stones. It is interesting to see the small fissures that occurred as Buddhism spread. However in the opposite direction, the museum also displays a small number of humbler pieces, tucked away in corners, as wooded statues and monotone colored prayer beads do not catch one’s eyes compared to golden statues. These pieces, though rustic and simple in their design show the true nature of Buddhism compared to attention grabbing statues.
Still, the followers of Buddhism continued to make beautiful and expensive art to honor their belief and still this belief shows in the pieces they created. Even the gold cast deities hold an air of peace and serenity as they stand, positioned perfectly, personifying various enlightened qualities that Buddhism seeks to achieve. These statues personify wisdom, understanding of reality, passionate action, and other major tenants of Buddhism.
The many depictions of Siddhartha show the changing nature of the religion as it traveled from place to place on the pages and tongues of followers of the belief. Belief mixed with culture, clashed with culture, clashed with other religions, mixed with other religions, and moved north, south, east, and west, changing more and more with every mile traveled and person it came across.
I would recommend going to see the Eastern Art at the Rubin Museum of Art. The works’ significant historical impact and natural ability to tell a story deepen the absorption of the pieces. The curators did a brilliant job of establishing a timeline and setting historical context to the exhibit. Likewise, they point the viewer to look at specific details, showing the process and planning involved in creating these pieces. The advanced technology of the times and the culture’s attention to detail result in near perfect pieces that is almost overlooked in a time where products churned out from a machine seem perfect as well. The museum is a great escape from Western culture and provides a fresh breath of air by transporting us to a simpler time under a simpler idea. The exhibit prods viewers to look deeper into Buddhism, a belief system that is often generalized and placed under an asian category. Instead it offers a new perspective on the religion, showing its many sides, and different interpretations of the belief as it grew, changed, and molded many different cultures in Asia during this time.
The exhibits at the Rubin may seem repetitive, but the minute details of pieces show the elaborate thought behind the works, the dedication to detail, and the practice of Buddhism. The museum not only tells a story, but shows the history of the growth and change of the religion. The repetitive nature of the pieces allows the museum itself to become a mantra, chanting the ideals of Buddhism. Though the religion has changed, the main ideals are still put forth in the each piece on display. Look at that gold deity, or a string of wooden prayer beads and somewhere far away, you can still hear the chanting prayer of Siddhartha Gautama.
