{"id":14362,"date":"2022-04-27T15:39:10","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T15:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/?p=14362"},"modified":"2022-04-27T15:39:12","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T15:39:12","slug":"lena-rubin-new-exhibit-perfect-vessels-and-moon-mandalas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/?p=14362","title":{"rendered":"Lena Rubin – New Exhibit: Perfect Vessels and Moon Mandalas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Artist\u00a0David Orr\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0new exhibition,\u00a0Radiance + Reflection: Mandalas and Moon<\/em>\u00a0marks the first in-person art opening at\u00a0New York City\u2019s\u00a0Tibet House<\/a>\u00a0since the beginning of the pandemic.\u00a0The New York-born,<\/a>\u00a0Los Angeles-based artist\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0exhibit explores \u201csymmetry, themes of interconnection, impermanence, and the way we apply order.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTibetan Buddhism already revels in the visual, which is appealing to any artist,\u201d Orr writes<\/a> in the exhibit\u2019s catalog, \u201cbut the connection for me goes far deeper.\u201d He draws artistic inspiration from Thich Nhat Hahn\u2019<\/a>s idea of Interbeing\u2014that, \u201cThe one can be seen in the all, and the all can be seen in the one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In keeping with this notion, the exhibit consists of three distinct yet interconnected series of mandalas. First is \u201cPerfect Vessels,\u201d a series of photographs of human skulls originally shot at the M\u00fctter Museum of Pathology<\/a> in Philadelphia. Orr has digitally reconstructed the photographs to give the skulls, marked by disease and imperfection, a symmetrical appearance. \u201cI liked the idea that, simply by repeating these \u2018imperfections,\u2019 I achieved results closer to perfection,\u201d Orr writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Perfect Vessel [Unknown \/ N\u00ba 1006.80]<\/em>, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The skulls-as-vessels dot the walls of the hallway leading into the main exhibit hall, where the \u201cMandala Lunae\u201d and \u201cIllumined\u201d series take center stage. Like \u201cPerfect Vessels,\u201d these two sequences are inspired by the form of the mandala<\/a>. In keeping with the word\u2019s Sanskrit definition\u2014\u201ccircle\u201d\u2014each work is mounted onto a uniformly-sized round aluminum disc. Looking at both \u201cMandala Lunae\u201d and \u201cIllumined,\u201d the viewer\u2019s eye traverses complex geometric patterns, ultimately landing in the blank, void-like reflective space at the center of the aluminum disc. In this way, the viewing experience itself enacts the principle \u201cemptiness is form, form is emptiness\u201d from the Heart Sutra<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orr says: \u201cA circle has consistently been the [geometric form] most chosen when representing complex information, from the earliest known celestial depictions to particle probability diagrams used in quantum physics,\u201d adding that \u201cwhich universe is being depicted depends on the series.\u201d  As Chogyam Trungpa writes in Orderly Chaos: The Mandala Principle<\/em><\/a>: \u201cMandala is that which is contained in everyday life. That includes the animate and inanimate, form and the formless, emotion and non-emotion. Wherever there is relationship, that seems to be the mandala principle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Buddhism is an ongoing interest of Orr\u2019s, he takes a playful approach to his study and practice, valuing creative inspiration and exploration over mastery. He finds meaning in the process itself: \u201cI\u2019m always fascinated by the concept of \u2018be here now\u2019 because\u2026 I\u2019m never \u2018here now,\u2019\u201d Orr told me when I visited the exhibit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2020 lockdown, a close friend of the artist\u2019s gifted him a telescope, and he began capturing images of the moon from his Los Angeles backyard. He didn\u2019t realize then that these images would become the raw material for the \u201cMandala Lunae\u201d series at the center of \u201cRadiance + Reflection.\u201d Originally, he simply shared them with friends via an email list, wanting to \u201cuplift the spirit of friends and family\u201d during a difficult time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI take comfort in the fact that whether seen by friends in America, Australia, France, Holland, India, New Zealand, Russia, the UK, etc. \u2014 if we look up at night we\u2019re all seeing the same moon, in its same phase,\u201d Orr says. \u201cI see the moon as a reminder of how disparate lives are interwoven.\u201d The moon project is an \u201congoing practice\u201d for Orr. With over thirty images accumulated already, Orr will continue each week until the year is complete. (Anyone can sign up for Orr\u2019s free Mandala 4 Monday email listserv<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Prajnaparamita Sutras<\/em>, 30-inch diameter archival aluminum disc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The repeated sequence of circles around the room subtly resembles a mala<\/a>\u2014a string of beads used to enhance meditative contemplation, named after the Sanskrit word for garland<\/em>. Incidentally, Orr also cites as inspiration the Flower Garland Sutra<\/em>,<\/a> which describes \u201cuntold moons\u201d emitting \u201cuntold beams of light\u201d as they emanate from the body of the Buddha.In the sutra, \u201ca cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually [contain] each other.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moon, besides appearing in all different types of mythology throughout history, also has \u201ca powerful influence here on earth and the way we measure time,\u201d Orr says, pointing out the fact that the words moon<\/em> and month<\/em> share a common linguistic root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interspersed among the lunar mandalas is a third body of work wherein Orr has created mandalas using images of sacred manuscripts, texts, and sutras that he accessed during a residency<\/a> at the Los-Angeles-based Philosophical Research Society<\/a>\u2014where the C.J. Jung, Aldous Huxley, and other esoteric philosophers once spent time. \u201cI had to be extremely careful,\u201d Orr told Tricycle<\/a> of his process in a 2018 article on an earlier iteration of the exhibit. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be the guy who cracked a thousand-year sutra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lotus Sutra<\/em>, 30-inch diameter archival aluminum disc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cIllumined\u201d series draws from an eclectic tradition of esoteric texts\u2014from a typewritten 1888 manuscript from Helena P. Blavatsky featuring hand-colored diagrams, to a silk-paneled Prajnaparamita Sutra<\/em> manuscript and an 1834 Lotus Sutra<\/em><\/a> manuscript from the collection of Japanese priest Joyen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orr manipulated the images of the manuscripts to create abstract, yet symmetrical, compositions. One has to look closely to see any legible words, if they exist at all, in the final form. While the appearance of the manuscripts have been altered, Orr points out<\/a> that the transformation reflects the Daoist principle that \u201cthe deepest truths can never be captured by words alone.\u201d So, Orr says, \u201cthe language in each manuscript that I photograph creates a discrete conceptual model of the universe; an intricate, multifaceted construction of thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m preoccupied by order and pattern. How we seek and create it. Whether or not we\u2019ve uncovered an existing order or simply imposed our own structures over systems we don\u2019t yet fully comprehend,\u201d Orr writes. \u201cAs a result, I have been drawn to areas where philosophy, science, and art interact. That seems where truth is most likely to reside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: https:\/\/tricycle.org\/trikedaily\/david-orr-tibet-house\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artist\u00a0David Orr\u2019s\u00a0new exhibition,\u00a0Radiance + Reflection: Mandalas and Moon\u00a0marks the first in-person art opening at\u00a0New York […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-letters-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lediemchihue.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/10-16.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bhGG-3JE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14364,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14362\/revisions\/14364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lediemchihue.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}