Painting Enlightenment gallery guide

GALLERY GUIDE

PAINTING ENLIGHTENMENT:

EXPERIENCING WISDOM AND COMPASSION THROUGH ART AND SCIENCE

ACTIVITIES

START

YOUR JOURNEY

LOOK CLOSER

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TEXT A THOUGHT

Go through the galleries.

Think: • We are part of an interconnected, dynamic universe.

• All forms, including us, are energy in constant flux.

• Everything is impermanent.

WRITE WITH WATER

Dampen your brush.

Try writing calligraphy.

Experience impermanence as your marks disappear.

TIE

A KNOT

What habit you would like to dissolve or develop?

Write it down.

Fold the paper.

Seal your intention.

Tie it to the wire.

Walk through the galleries.

Text words that come to mind.

Join the collective conversation with fellow visitors.

TAKE A BREATHER

If you’re quiet and enjoying breathing in and breathing out, you’re meditating.

Grab a pillow.

Have a seat.

Meditate.

RETURN

TO THE BEGINNING

THE HEART SUTRA The Bodhisattva of all-seeing and all-hearing [Avalokitesvara, Chenrezig, Kwan-yin, Kannon], while practicing deep Prajnaparamita [wisdom-meditation], perceives the five elements in their self-nature to be empty.

O Sariputra, form is emptiness, emptiness is form; form is nothing but emptiness, emptiness is nothing but form; that which is form is emptiness, and that which is emptiness is form. The same is true for emotion, conception, activation, and discrimination.

O Sariputra, all things are by nature empty. They are not born, they are not extinguished; they are not tainted, they are not pure; they do not increase, they do not decrease. Within emptiness there is no form, and therefore no emotion, conception, activation, or discrimination; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no shape, sound, scent, taste, touch, or principle; extending from no element of seeing to no element of consciousness; from no knowledge and no ignorance to no old age, no death, and no extinction of old age and death. There is no suffering, no accumulation, no annihilation, no path; there is no cognition, no attainment, and no realization because there is no attainment.

In the mind of the Bodhisattva who dwells in the Prajnaparamita, there are no obstacles and therefore no fear, no delusion, and nirvana is attained. All Buddhas of the past, present, and future through Prajnaparamita reach the highest all-embracing enlightenment.

Therefore, know that Prajnaparamita is the great Mantra, the Mantra of great clarity, the unequalled Mantra which allays all pain through truth and not falsehood. This is the Mantra proclaimed in Prajnaparamita, saying, Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha [Gone, gone, gone to the other shore, reaching the other shore, enlightenment, all hail!]�

—translation by Stephen Addiss

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Through the pilgrim, we see that we are part of a dynamic cosmos. Our Milky Way Galaxy is a familiar sight, making us feel at home in the universe.

Iwasaki depicts a Hubble Telescope image of The Eagle Nebula with its three star-forming regions, named “Pillars of Creation.� For Iwasaki, nebulas represent changing energy forms and the idea that there is no birth and no death.

The black hole at the center of the Milky Way is 2.6 million times the mass of our sun. Here, it represents a cauldron of compassion that dissolves delusion, greed, and hatred.

Iwasaki Tsuneo, Japanese, 1917–2002; Big Bang: E = mc2, six scroll paintings; 17 x 8.5 feet

The Buddha of Infinite Light watches as stars are born, die, and re-born out of the emptiness that makes up over 95% of the universe.

Dragons protect seekers of enlightenment. The dragons on the right and left protect nebulas and transfer energy to birth new stars by stirring up interstellar dust.

Our Milky Way Galaxy’s nearest neighbor, Andromeda Galaxy, swirls with one of the 13 Heart Sutra texts repeated in these six scrolls.

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IWASAKI TSUNEO AND HIS PROCESS Iwasaki Tsuneo was born in Japan in 1917 into a Buddhist family. After his World War II experiences, he developed deep concern for collective violence and suffering, particularly in our nuclear age. Upon his retirement and the death of his mother, Iwasaki was responsible for making offerings at his family altar. He took up sutra copying as a devotional and meditative practice until his death in 2002. He hoped to pass on what he had learned about life, death, and healing through his paintings.

Referring to himself as a “Sunday carpenter,” Iwasaki’s created this magnifying device to assist in his meticulous practice. This device is similar to the microscopes he used as a research biologist.

Iwasaki merged art and science, not only in his images, but also in his artistic process.

Iwasaki used templates to measure and calculate the sizes of each character. Each Heart Sutra round needed to be fully complete as a text and image simultaneously. In the pagoda paintings, for example, he often used 11, 17, or 21 repetitions of the sutra text. Horyu-ji Pagoda, in the first gallery features 30 rounds of scripture. The Big Bang: E=mc2 features 13 repetitions.

ABOUT THE GUEST CURATOR

Paula Arai received her Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Harvard University. Author of Women Living Zen and Bringing Zen Home, she is currently working on a book about Iwasaki Tsuneo’s art, Brushstrokes of Compassion: A Scientist’s Healing Vision of the Heart Sutra. Her research has received support from Fulbright and ATLAS (Awards to Louisiana Artists and Scholars). She is currently an associate professor of Buddhist Studies at LSU.

LECTURES & PROGRAMS YOU

BROWN BAG LUNCH: BUDDHISM 101 WITH GUEST CURATOR DR. PAULA ARAI Wednesday, September 21, 12 p.m., Third Floor, Free.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Thursday, September 29, 6–7 p.m., Fifth Floor. Thay Thich Dao Quang of Tam Bao Temple. Free.

YOGA WITH BETH ZAGURSKI Sunday, October 2, 3–4 p.m.

Fifth Floor, Free Sunday, November 6, 3–4 p.m.

Fifth Floor, Free.

OTHERS

NATURE

COSMOS

OPENING RECEPTION Painting Enlightenment Thursday, September 8, 6–8:30 p.m.

Lecture By Dr. Paula Arai, 6–7 p.m., Third Floor Reception, 7–8:30 p.m., Fifth Floor

BONSAI DEMONSTRATION WITH LOWELL TILLEY Sunday, September 25, 3–5 p.m., Third Floor $20 members, $25 nonmembers (cost covers tree and supplies) Advance registration required at www.lsumoa.org.

COCKTAILS IN COLOR: SAKE TASTING AND STARGAZING September 15, 7–9 p.m.

Color Discussion and infused cocktail, 7 p.m., Fifth Floor Sake Tasting and Stargazing with BR Astronomical Society, 7:30 p.m.

Sixth Floor $10 Museum members, $15 non-members PANEL DISCUSSION “ATOMIC TO COSMIC: SCIENCE IN PAINTING ENLIGHTENMENT” Thursday, October 13, 6–7 p.m., Fifth Floor. Learn about scientific phenomena depicted in Painting Enlightenment with LSU astrophysicist Dr. Geoffrey Clayton, quantum physicist Dr. Ravi Rau, and evolutionary biologist Dr. Dominique Homberger. Free.

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UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS Everlasting Calm: The Art of Elliott Daingerfield

organized by The Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia

December 16, 2016 – March 19, 2017

When the Water Rises: Paintings by Julie Heffernen March 16 – September 2017 Contemporary Masters: Works on Paper from the Collection of the Art Museum of South Texas organized by The Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi

April 7 – July 9, 2017

Light and Shadow: Exploring Photography April 7 – July 9, 2017

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www.lsumoa.org | 225-389-7200 ON THE COVER: Iwasaki Tsuneo, Japanese, 1917–2002; Cat’s Eye: Buddha’s Mirror (detail), ink, paint on paper; 33 x 33.5 inches

Generous support for this exhibition is provided by the Imo Brown Memorial Fund and LA Machinery. Additional support is provided the LSU Philosophy and Religious Studies department, the LSU Asian Studies program and Jim Stone Co.