A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.  ~Albert Camus

Any great work of art... revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world - the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air.  ~Leonard Bernstein, What Makes Opera Grand?

There is no surer method of evading the world than by following Art, and no surer method of linking oneself to it than by Art.  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

LUNGTA Triptych, (l to r) Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrapani

LUNGTA installation

The collaborative’s origins lay in a commission from Linda Reichert, artistic director and founder of Network for New Music, a premiere national group dedicated to the commission and performance of new music.  Reichert clearly had a specific synergy in mind; Andrea and I, along with choreographer Manfred Fischbeck, were invited for lunch and presented with her vision for the upcoming  NNM 2008-09 season, which would devoted to collaborative explorations between music and the visual arts - appropriately entitled MIX.  As the thematic subject of our particular effort was open, my thoughts turned immediately to my recent trek in 2006 to the Himalayan Kingdom of Lo. The catalyst for that journey had been my determination to rediscover and identify a particular landscape first glimpsed many decades ago in my high school library. The location portrayed in that earlier sighting was unidentified, yet as an image of terrible beauty, I had never forgotten it. Prolonged bouts of web-surfing finally yielded results; a photo depicting a virtually identical image was identified as the Kali Gandacki river gorge in Upper Mustang, Nepal.  My mystery location finally revealed, I planned a journey about which I’d fantasized for decades. With my husband, Peter Horodowich, I traveled up that gorge beyond the massifs of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna to the kingdom of Lo Monthang in northwest Nepal in the fall of 2006.

Kali Gandaki

Fortresses of the Raja and Rani

Meditation Caves

Recalling now those memories of that spectacular land and its tenacious people, I was moved to celebrate them. Among many images, one immediately and repeatedly asserted itself – wind lashed Lung-ta atop desolate passes, furiously imploring the heavens. Defiant in their finitude, they were an affirmation of the perseverance of both pilgrims and gods in their eternal engagement with universal forces. Their urgent supplications alternating with joyous salutations, they assumed for me a particular poignancy when contemplating the increasingly grave challenges to our planet; in those mountains climactic change was everywhere in evidence. So moved, I initiated proto drawings and a proposal outlining my interpretive vision and presented it to my colleagues, who immediately felt an affinity for its philosophical message and expressive potential. Indeed, Linda Reichert’s inspiration was such that her vision now foresaw a physical journey to Lo; artistic integrity required the effort!  And so Andrea Clearfield and I traveled to Lo in Upper Mustang in the late summer of 2008; for Andrea the allure of vast and unknown vistas, [3] for myself, a return to a wild and beloved place; for both of us, the challenge of physical and mental borderlands and the liminal spaces between.

Lung-ta in Lo, Upper Mustang, Nepalese Himalaya

Border Checkpoint

Within Nepal, the kingdom [4] -or region-of Lo is a “restricted area”. The origin of this status lies both in political strife and economic agendas, past and present. As the Nepalese government forbids solitary travel within the region, this proscription brought us the companionship of Dr. Sienna Craig, a cultural anthropologist from Dartmouth College. Recent friends, we had serendipitously learned of each others plans to enter the kingdom, and determining that our agendas were harmonious, welcomed the opportunity to travel together.  Sienna’s companionship was an unexpected gift and delight; fluent in Nepali and Tibetan, with deep personal and cultural knowledge of the region [5], her skills were a tremendous asset. We were joined by two additional companions; our guide and liaison Gyaltso Bista, close friend of Sienna and amchi practitioner in the service of the Loba King, Jigme Palbar Bista, and as Sienna would be traveling with her not-quite four year old daughter Aida, she would be aided by Norzing-La, daughter of the Loba Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Dawa. With these advantages we would be able to travel with efficiency and speed. Traveling with the intrepid Aida added a unique dimension to the physical and psychological challenges, heightening both our sense of protective vigilance and connection, both with each other and with the humanity of the Lobas.  And so in the late summer of 2008, our group crossed into the restricted area of Upper Mustang, headed for the capital of Monthang, and on the trail of the Windhorse.

Drdak, Craig and Clearfield

Clearfield and Drdak

LUNGTA Party with Raja of Mustang

The LUNGTA Triptych’s visual imagery draws upon two living concepts from the Tibetan cultures of this remote Himalayan region; that of Lung-Ta, and that of the Rigsum Gompo—the Three Protectors. These concepts physically and metaphysically permeate the Kingdom of Lo, which is believed to be the last remaining enclave of pure Tibetan culture. Though the origins of these concepts lie deep within the ancient Central Asian, Himalayan, and Vedic cultures, their underlying sensibilities are familiar to the West.; many of our myths reflecting similar concepts and structures. But the relevance of this iconography, indeed that of any imagery, lies in its ongoing capacity to connect with the present; in this essential respect Lung-Ta lives!

Lung-Ta is multivalent in depth, flexibility, and relevance; it exists conceptually on dual planes of both the metaphysical and the vernacular - the universal and the personal – the eternal and the temporal.  The Lung-Ta, or Windhorse, lends its name to the Tibetan or Buddhist Prayer Flag. This common vernacular form can be seen strung at shrines, monasteries, and sites of spiritual significance, both public and private. Though images, specific text, and motivational intent of Lung-Ta may vary greatly, the predominant form is a square of cloth upon which is printed an image (from which its name is derived) of the Celestial Horse bearing upon its back the Flaming Jewels of the Dharma, surrounded by the text of Buddhist prayers and accompanied by the Four Animal Guardians. (Photo)  As it flies, it sanctifies the animating and permeating wind, carrying the blessings of the Dharma heavenward. Snapping in the wind, it recalls the sound of horse’s hooves. An evocative and recurring sight, Lung-ta signify places of power - high mountain passes, venerated gompas - and confer blessing and protection upon points of vulnerability - both human and inanimate.

Lung-ta with Windhorse

Lung-Ta also refers to a more subtle concept; that of the Mind riding upon the Spirit, as a Horseman rides upon a Horse.  Indeed, early Vedic peoples visualized the structure of the World-Cosmos as analogous to the horse’s body. In Tibetan, ta is horse and lung signifies not only breath or wind, but atmospheric energy, and further, the prana, or vital energy, surging through the subtle or vajra (diamond) body which all individuals are believed to posses.  The energy of the horse represents the Heavenly Wind; the great Pranic Breath of the Cosmos – upon which rides the Mind, that of the innate consciousness of the universe that is the inheritance of Man. In some traditions and interpretations this association becomes so close that the two are conflated; this merging of identification being common in early totemic cultures.  When properly aligned, through the purging of destructive negativity and ignorance, the Mind (Rider) soars into the Heavens upon the eternal energy of his Soul (Steed) and unimpeded attains Liberation, or moksha; the reconciliation of Spirit and Matter, Prusha and Prakriti, Atman and Brahman.

In the mountain hermitage which is my body,
In the temple of my breast
At the summit of the triangle of my heart,
The horse which is my mind flies like the wind.
He gallops on the plains of great bliss.
If he persists, he will attain the rank of a victorious Buddha.
Going backward, he cuts the root of samsara;
Going forward he reaches the high land of buddhahood.
Astride such a horse, one attains the highest illumination [6]

As is here evident, the concept of Lung-ta is highly accommodating of creative synthesis. Its imagery is highly plastic, expressing both physical and metaphysical energies. In approaching my work for the collaborative, it was important for me to envision formal structures that could clearly translate into their expressive counterparts in music, so that this lovely duality would be effectively realized through the complimentary forms of music and image. Approach and treatment were selected with consideration of their translation into musical structure. Thus, forms evocative of wind and movement permeate the Triptych.  In my paintings, Lung-Ta is expressed through dynamic gesture incorporating elements of the equine form, as well as formal references to the cloud formations racing across the vast Tibetan plateau. The speed of the horse associates it with the wind, and through natural extension, the clouds. Indeed, among the Tibetans, one particular form of cloud with a twisting, trailing form is known as a “Mares Tail” [7]. Clouds, and all natural forms, are highly codified in Tibetan visual iconography, as are their symbolical associations. In determining Lung-Ta’s visual vocabulary, I have respectfully referenced these forms, interpreting and integrating them within the biomorphic structure. “Cloud Streets” (long continuous bands of clouds) and “Mares Tails” merge with muscular fragments, suggesting the shifting energies and moods of the Windhorse as it flies through the heavens, and convey this alliance between horse and wind. Their shifting states of existence are conveyed through biomorphic expression- the perpetuity of material flux - the endless “becoming” of the physical; the manifest within the immanent.

Manjushri

Avalokiteshvara

Vajrapani

I have used the expressive potential inherent in the equine form to allude to both the Windhorse itself, and additionally the qualities associated with each of the bodhisattvas of the Rigsum Gompo, described below. The tripartite further translates into musical movements; thus, in Manjushri, rolling clouds unfurl and stream outward, referencing the Bodhisattva who “dispels the Clouds of Ignorance.”

Their gentled streams merge into the following image—Avalokiteshvara. Here the cloud streets are calm, and the great biomorphic form is gently closed within itself, or “collected”; an equine term that signifies balance, harmony and benevolence.

The cloud streets continue onwards, and in Vajrapani, the bodhisattva emblematic of skillful method or action (vajra=lightening), they explode in a lightening stroke outward and off the picture plane; the resulting energy resonates and reverberates throughout the jagged biomorphic structure.

The horizontal rush of the cloud streets manifest the universal winds and complement the surging tsa lung, which conceptually ground the work. Passing through all three images, they are here depicted as three pure gold threads—the Prana channels - carrying the breath of life. Crowning the anterior plane of all three images, the deep blue of space recedes upward according to Tibetan sensibility. Movement, light, and speed are the essence of LUNGTA.

Rigsum Gompo

Offering Wall

Tsarang Monastery

To the imagery of the Windhorse (Lung-Ta), I have joined the colors of the Rigsum Gompo, the Three Protectors. They function as a visual benediction. The Rigsum Gompo is a triad of three Buddhist deities, or bodhisattvas, symbolically depicted within the region of Lo as three simple square edifices, or chortens, enrobed in the colored clays of this region. They are emblematic of the three corresponding Buddhist Protectors who are respectively: Manjushri, whose attributes are Wisdom and the color red-yellow; Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan-Chenrezig) [8], whose attributes are Compassion and White; and Vajrapani, whose attributes are Action or Power, and the color blue-black. These three deities are positioned at points of vulnerability around villages and, as a triad, form an ideal unified force for the protection of all sentient beings.  Rigsum Gompo are strategically situated in protective positions around Loba villages; their colors anoint places of veneration and offering. They confer protection upon the homes of villagers. In my paintings, the Rigsum Gompo are represented as three color fields occupying the lower third of the image plane. They are painted with the actual colored clays of Lo, originating from specific areas within the region, brought back by me for this purpose. Upon each of the three color fields is transcribed one of three stanzas comprising a Prayer for Planetary Peace [9], which was written at my request by Tenzin Bista, an amchi and senior monk from Choede Monastery in Lo Monthang, specifically for this work. Addressed to the crucible of these greatly troubled times, the prayer is an invocation and benediction for Everyman, the Earth, and All Sentient Beings. I have transcribed this prayer [10], literally, in iron (fine iron particles in acrylic suspension). Iron is regarded as spiritually efficacious, being associated with the meteoric iron that frequently falls upon the Tibetan Plateau. Its associations with the horse, lightening, life force, chaste heart, and fire, and their correlative properties, mark it as a powerful signifier. The text of this prayer is written in the cursive form of Tibetan, called kyug yig—or “running hand”. Its expressive form, rarely seen in the West, is evocative of the rushing cloud formations of the Tibetan Plateau, and resonates with the dynamic movements of the biomorphic forms racing across the three canvases. The Lung-Ta images are painted in acrylic on transparently primed linen and are each six by six feet. They are presented in a form analogous to the vernacular expression of Lung-Ta, that of the prayer flag; they have been cut from their stretchers and fly freely when hung in their venue. As the raison d’etre of the visual arts is, ultimately, the expression, communication and reception of spiritual values, their sensibility is therefore, of a sacral nature.

My art has long been grounded in both external and internal locations of extremis; the deserts, seas and heights of the earth, and from the great philosophical visions which continually spring forth from them. As such, the Himalaya is a sanctified place where both body and mind are driven inexorably towards the reconciliation of opposites. One is relentlessly aware of physical limitations, and yet, paradoxically, experiences a limitless sense of euphoric connection. The grace of transcendence seems momentarily within reach. Through this requisite submission of the ego to the abrasion of vast and impersonal forces, our apprehension of the eternal is ever refined, our sense of connection ever deepened, our creativity continually enhanced.

As mentioned in the first lines of this essay, a heightened sense of cultural change and fragility informed our work. Societies are rapidly changing, increasingly stretching the limits of communal connection. Art can be a powerful force for easing this dislocation; it can offer a momentary sense of communal transcendence-tenuous, yet essential; West meeting East; thesis and antithesis birthing synthesis, yet one more variation of evolution of Self through Other.  Art can maintain meaningful cultural identity and be a positive force for self definition-a grounding matrix enabling individuals to locate themselves within their societies, and their world. Lung-Ta is an allegory for the human soul and its’ relationship with the eternal/universe; though aesthetically autonomous, LUNGTA exists, ultimately, for communal benefit. It is my hope that in this respect, it accords with the Tibetan spiritual aesthetic, and honors the spirit of the mountains from which this work is drawn.

MAUREEN DRDAK
April 2009