Sponsor of Tibetan Jue'Nang Thangka Painters
*All conversations published have gained the consent of speakers. The art form Teacher Zhou has shown me the most is Jue’nang Thangka, Tibetan Buddhist paintings; the temple she sponsors supports many Tibetan monks and apprentices from all over China who train their techniques of painting Thangka every day. Zhou, who is very accomplished in modern painting, is also a master of this style. I interviewed her in the Thangka gallery of her temple. I began with the most basic question, asking her to introduce the general concept of Thangka. “In Tibetan culture, the development of Thangka art has been an important historical witness no matter what period it was,” Zhou smiled serenely, “Traditional Thangka is a unique painting form in Tibet. After thousands of years of historical inheritance, it absorbed and integrated artistic elements from various regional cultures such as China, Tibet, India, and Nepal. Thangka gradually developed into a style with great aesthetic value: its unique a...
