BUDDHA 108 ENCOUNTERS

Buddha 108 Encounters

February 26th - June 07th 2015 - Museum Angewandte Kunst. Schaumainkai 17. 60594 Frankfurt.

Only few persons in history have had an impact comparable to that of the Gautama Buddha. Hardly another spiritual figure has been considered an ideal human being with such amazing consistency as that of an Indian prince. His portraits make their presence felt in monasteries, private altars and many other places and settings throughout Asia. What is more, all of the world's most popular forms of the world. The Buddha's popularity can not be attributed solely to the success of his doctrine, but also to the profound effect his likeness exerts on us. It is an image that, like any other, embodies the ideal of the peaceable human being.
Anyone who has ever seen a masterpiece of Buddhist art - for example, the colossal bronze figure of the Buddha between the hills and the sea in Kamakura, Japan - will understand the extent to which nosed atheists. And the degree to which this image of peaceableness threatens religious opponents was tragically demon- strated by the destruction of the Buddha of Bamiyan in Afghanistan by Taliban fighters in March 2001. Despite such distressing events, the deep respect paid the Buddha has a manifestation of wisdom and spiritual greatness throughout the world. Buddha's teachings, on the other hand, stand for emancipation from material reality and all kinds of imagery.
The exhibition will present altogether 108 outstanding examples of Buddhist art, mainly sculptures, from India, China, Tibet, Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan. The main focus will be on the image of the Gautama Buddha, which will be enhanced by other forms of expression in Buddhist art. A hundred and eight portraits of the Buddha mean a hundred and eight encounters with a face embodying a human ideal of inward and outward peaceableness. In Buddhist Doctrine, the number 108 is considered holy because it symbolizes the 108 volumes of the collected teachings of the Gautama Buddha. In the Buddhist temples of Japan, the temple is struck 108 times on the last night of the year - each ring standing for one of the 108 temptations that must be overcome on the way to nirvana.
The show will provide an overview of two thousand years of Buddhist imagery from its beginnings in the Gandharan art of the first century AD to a few modern examples. It will be housed in the Museum of the Arts and the Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt. Many of the works have never before been presented in a public exhibition.