Detail: Since opening its doors nearly six years ago, the Rubin Museum of Art has introduced hundreds of thousands of visitors to the fundamentals of Himalayan art through What Is It?, the museum's introductory exhibition. Gateway to Himalayan Art, a new exhibition, explores the key concepts and artistic traditions of Himalayan art, equipping visitors with the essential knowledge they need to understand and appreciate many of the works of art throughout the museum.
Visitors to Gateway will first be oriented with the geographic scope and diversity of the Himalayas through a large interactive map. From there, the exhibition is divided into three main sections.
The first section explores the symbolism and iconography central to understanding the narrative structure of nearly any Himalayan painting or sculpture. The distinguishing characteristics of particular buddhas, bodhisattvas, and peaceful and wrathful deities such as attendant figures, gestures, instruments, and physical features are presented through a large format illustration of a Himalayan narrative scene. This basic structure may then be applied to works of art throughout the museum.
The next section demonstrates how Himalayan art is made. A detailed three-dimensional installation presents the intricate process of Nepalese lost wax casting. Thangka painting and other mediums of production are also explored.
The final section of Gateway addresses purpose and function. Addressing secular concerns such as long life and wealth, as well as meditative forms such as mandalas, this section serves to place Himalayan art in context.
Throughout these sections, a number of multimedia and interactive components offer visitors the option to delve deeper into topics of interest. Zoom features on touch screens encourage close examination of art works, while "decode it" stations feature interactive in-depth explorations of narrative painting, figural painting, and landscape painting. A computer-generated three-dimensional representation brings to life a mandala palace and the protector deities that are normally hidden from view in two-dimensional mandala forms. A complimentary audio tour features some 20 minutes of additional content.
At the conclusion of Gateway to Himalayan Art, visitors will have a working knowledge of Himalayan geography and cultures, important deities and symbols, the materials and techniques used in creating these works of art, and why and how these works are used.