Tibetanpeopleproduceabundantculturalandartisticworkssatedwithethnicflavor,andthangkasareclearlysomeofthemostpopularexamples.Traditionally,thangkaartisTibetanBuddhistpaintingoncotton,orsilkappliqué,usuallydepictingaBuddhistdeityorscene.Withahistoryofmorethan1,300years,thangkaarthasgraduallyresultedinmultipleschoolswithuniquefeatures,ofwhichManniang,ChenZher,andKarzhiareparticularlystrongstandouts.
BorninMay1974,TingabegantostudytheKarzhiSchoolfromhisunclein1982.HisuncleisKarmaDelek,the28thgenerationsuccessoroftheKarzhiSchool.GreatlyinfluencedbyHanpainting,theKarzhiSchoolfeaturesavividstyleandelegantcolors.However,trainingtocomposesuchgorgeouspaintingsisunbelievablytedious.Everyday,Tingastartedearlyinthemorningandonlystoppedafternightfell,usuallymorethan12hourslater.Moreover,sincethangkafeaturesstrongreligiouscolors,TingaspenthisnightsreadingbooksonTibetanBuddhismandstudyingsutrastodeepenunderstandings.Ingeneral,studyingthangkastartswithtraditionalinkdrawingfollowedbybrushtechniquesandthenstudiesoftheproportionsofdifferentBuddhistfigures.Beginnersfirstlearnbycopyingaclose-upportraitofBuddha,anendeavorthatcanlastuptotwoyears.Aftereightyearsofsystematictraining,Tingafinishedhisapprenticeshipandwasapprovedtoproducelarge-scalemuralsandthangkasonhisown.
Soon,Tingawasreceivinginvitationsfrom13monasteriesalloverTibettopaintthangkasandmuralsforthem,includingtherenownedKarmaMonasteryinQamdo.Forthangkapainters,travelingtopaintformonasteriesisconsideredagreathonor.Butsuchtravelswerenoteasyin1990s,whenlocaltransitremainedundeveloped.Still,Tingatooktheopportunitytoembarkonaspecialdecade-longpilgrimage.HetouredeverymonasteryinTibetandmanyTibetancommunitiesinotherpartsofChinaandstudiedthetime-honoredmuralsandthangkasheldbythesemonasterieswhilelearningfromlocalculturalrelicexpertsandarchaeologists.“Somemuralsandthangkaswerequitewellpreserveddespiteahistoryofseveralhundredyears,”Tingarecalls.“Iwasgreatlymovedtoseetheseprofoundworksproducedbyourancestorscenturiesago.Andduringmytrip,Iwasevenmoresurprisedtorealizethedepthoflong-termfriendshipbetweenTibetanandHanpeople.Forexample,somefiguresonthemuralsinDrathangMonasterylocatedinTibet’sShannanPrefecturearedressedinancientHan-styledcostumes.”
August6,2010:TingaexplainshisDuo-schoolthangkapaintingtoTibetanBuddhistsatTibetMuseuminLhasa.Tibetanpaintings,thangkaincluded,incorporatemanyelementsfromHanpainting,especiallyfromthe14thCenturyonwards.byKelzangDawa/XinhuaIn1998,TingachancedtoseeapictureofathangkaportrayingGreenTarafromNepal,afemaleBodhisattvaassociatedwithenlightenedactivityandabundanceinTibetanBuddhism.Thepiece,whichstarklycontraststraditionalTibetanwork,inspiredTingatoinjectnewideasintotraditionalTibetanthangka.TingajoinedseveralotherrenownedTibetanthangkapainterstocreatetheDuoSchool.Comparedwithothertraditionalthangkaschools,theDuoSchoolleavesplentifulwhitespaceonscrolls,featuressimplecomposition,andabsorbsfeaturesofrealisttraditionalChinesepaintingtodepictscenery.Moreimportantly,thenewschoolfeaturesmorediversesubjects,techniques,andstyles.“OuraimwhenfoundingthenewschoolwastobetterpreserveandpassonTibetanart,”saysTinga.“Tibetalreadyhasquiteafewthangkagenres.Wewanttofurtherdevelopandpromotetheart,makingitmorediverseandappealingtomorepeople.”
Asthe29thgenerationsuccessoroftheKarzhiSchool,Tingacaresdeeplyaboutpreservingandpassingonthangkaculture.“Ilearnedthearttheoldway–basicallygettingitfrommyfamilymembers,”Tingaadmits.“Idon’thavemuchtheoreticalarteducation.Youngpeoplelearningthangkapaintingnowandthosewhohaveplanstolearntheartinthefutureshouldfirststudycoresubjects,especiallyTibet’shistoryandculture.Suchknowledgewillhelpthemdevelopmorerapidlyasartists.”
ThangkasbyTinga.SometimescalledtheencyclopediaoftheTibetanpeople,thangkanowcoversawidevarietyofthemesincludingpolitics,economy,religion,history,andsociallife.TibetanThangkaArt:DiverseandFlourishing
SinceemergingduringtheTuboKingdom,whichexistedfromthe7thto9thcenturies,Tibetanthangkaarthasrecordedahistoryofmorethan1,300years.Almostalltraditionalthangkapaintingsfeaturereligioussubjects.Andtheartwasstrictlypassedononlywithinfamilies,fromfathertoson–onlyoccasionallydidmastersinstructapprenticeswithoutabloodrelationship.AfterthepeacefulliberationofTibetin1951,thangkaarthasbeenwellprotectedandhasdevelopedrapidly.Aestheticandtheoreticalresearchontheart,documentationwhichhardlyexistedinTibetbefore1951,begantotakeshapeandproducepromisingresults.Amulti-levelmodernarteducationsystemwasestablishedwiththeparticipationofinstitutionsrangingfromelementaryschoolstocolleges,cultivatingprofessionalreservesfortheart.Inrecentyears,topicsrelatedtothepaintingsalsoexpandedfromreligiontohistoricalthemes,everydaylife,folkculture,andscenery.Theworksnowdepictawidevarietyofsubjectsrelatedtoreligion,politics,economics,history,art,andTibetansociallife.