The Seeking Shambhala exhibit at the MFA was very beautiful, but the two pieces that I connected with the most were 'Radioactive' by Gonkar Gyatso and 'The Mantra Waterfall' by Tadanori Yokoo. 'Radioactive' was a psychedelic collage piece on a cast-resin statue of Buddha. The stickers and magazine clippings are very modern and kitsch--even including the glittery bits representing the Chakras of the Buddha. It was an interesting mix of holy iconography and modern-day kitsch, which I love and try to put into my own art.
The second piece in the exhibit that really captivated me is Tadanori Yokoo's 'The Mantra Waterfall', which is a mix of art and technology. It involved small, animated tv-screens where the waterfall was, causing a psychodelic, animated effect throughout a colorful, traditional style Japanese paintings. The water patterns on the screen, over the 2-dimensional painted hills, drawing the viewer in and making them believe in a make-believe world behind the painting. In my own art, I love creating my own worlds, and I'd like to hope I could create the similar feelings I got from Yokoo's work with the art of my own creation.
In another part of the museum, I found a beautiful automaton titled 'Diana and the stag', who had been credited by Joachim Fries. It is an extremely ornate drinking vessel, made from silver and gold-gilded silver encrusted with jewels, featuring an ethereal angel figure riding a beautifully decorated stag, with hounds and forest animals at her feet. The entire piece is so wonderfully detailed and fairytale-like, it caught my eyes immediately. It made me want to write stories about the figures portrayed in the figure, which I find very inspiring. I hope this same sense of whimsy and fairytale-like nature comes through in my own work.
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