Stella Adler Studio

Join us for a Poetry Reading & exhibition of Embracing Compassion Artworks, featuring poet in residence Yusef Komunyakaa and Noriko Kamo, a pianist, organist and vocalist presenting works specifically around the theme of compassion.

This unique series of 16 Thangkas Artworks depicts the lineage of the Dalai lamas in each of their incarnations, up to the Fourteenth, actual Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. The project for this series was presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by the Norbulingka Thangka painting master Temba Chophel in 2002. No such work of this scope on the Dalai Lama lineage existed, at least to anyone’s knowledge, and Temba Chophel was excited at the idea of creating a great traditional work as was executed in the past. l In response, His Holiness commissioned the work, which was completed in the summer of 2015.

The thangkas, which depict a central figure surrounded by the events in the life of each Dalai Lama, capture the historical and spiritual events that marked each one’s life. They begin with incarnations that preceded the recognition of the Dalai Lamas, which include Tibet’s first kings, then each Dalai Lama. Three thangkas are reserved to illustrate the life of the 14th, present Dalai Lama, who is 81 years old.

Each thangka was carefully researched for content, and Temba Chophel consulted lamas and scholars, notably Chato Rinpoche, then the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, the Dalai Lama’s monastery, to insure the accuracy and details of each thangka. Temba Chophel passed away in 2007. His main disciple, Tenzin Norbu and his team, completed the series, which had all been etched, in a seamless manner.

Date: March 23, 2017
Time: 7 PM – 9 PM
Location: Stella Adler Studio of Acting
31 West 27th Street, Floor 3
New York, NY 10001

WHEN WE ARE MOTIVATED BY WISDOM AND COMPASSION, THE RESULTS OF OUR ACTIONS BENEFIT EVERYONE…

These works of art are the product of another time when time was not a factor and the execution of one piece could take as long as a year. Each took about nine months, and the result was so rich and exceptional that it became important to find a way to share it with the world, by making the best possible limited editions reproductions that would capture the vibrancy and essence of the original artworks. A printing firm in Pisa, who makes exceptional reproductions for the Vatican Museum took on the task. Beginning in 2011, Leonardo Panettieri studied the works extensively and determined the best way to recreate each detail and color to perfection on the finest canvas. In 2017, after six years of exhaustive research and testing, the artworks are now ready to be presented globally.

The 16 Thangka Artworks are presented in historical perspective starting from 1391 to the current Dalai Lama in 2017.