In many ways the Academy's Bhutan project recalls the expeditionary efforts of museums and scholars a century ago in a more mysterious and traditional Asia which is now almost lost to growing internationalization. Assistant Curator John Johnston, who is based in Bhutan, climbed mountains and crossed river valleys in his quest to find objects for the exhibition. Curator Terese Bartholomew, a forty-year veteran of the Asian Art Museum, led the selection and research process. In more accessible locations, the researchers would visit sanctuaries as a group. Visiting the sacred objects in their original religious context has been a lesson in the spiritual significance and usage of "art". Dr. Reda Sobky, an experienced practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism and advisor to the project, has helped interpret these objects as tools employed in the transformation of consciousness.

This exhibition is remarkable for the close collaboration between Bhutanese monks and scholars and the staff of The Dragon's Gift. The indigenous voice has been included at all stages of research and is well represented in the resulting catalogue. Providing a window into how the Bhutanese themselves experience the "works of art" is an important goal of the project.

Unfortunately for the works of art, the Bhutanese caretakers have yet to adopt proper storage and handling techniques. The result is many damaged and deteriorated thangkas and sculptures. Nearly every piece in the exhibition required conservation. Ephraim Jose, Asian Art Conservator at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, led these efforts with the assistance of Mark Fenn from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, who conserved sculptural objects. The two have led several conservation workshops in Bhutan and several monks have worked in Mr. Jose’s studio in Hawaii. These training efforts promise a brighter future for the works of art kept in Bhutan.

One of the most important and noteworthy aspects of the exhibition is the inclusion of ritual Buddhist dance, or cham. The Academy has partnered with Core of Culture, a Chicago-based non-profit dance research organization specializing in the Himalayas, to thoroughly research these dances and present them in the exhibition. The dance group, under the direction of prominent Dance Historian Joseph Houseal, has developed an extensive digital database with over three hundred hours of video documentation, including the performances of numerous rare, nearly extinct cham rituals. In addition to the database, which will be made available to the public during the exhibition, several video installations and an entire gallery is set aside for the subject. Working with Mr. Houseal is Gerard Houghton, an information technology expert and videographer, and Karma Tshering, one of Bhutan's brightest and most beloved film directors. Dance performances and a multimedia materials will bring together the performing and visual arts like no other exhibition of the Buddhist arts.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts houses one of the top ten collections of Asian art in America, with special strengths in East and South Asia, and particularly excellent holdings of Indian sculpture, Chinese paintings, Korean ceramics, and Japanese prints. The Academy has an excellent collection of important works of Buddhist art, but relatively few works from the Himalayas. This groundbreaking exhibition on Bhutan provides Academy visitors with a rare opportunity to visually experience the enigmatic art traditions located amongst the world's highest mountains.

Most of the items in the exhibition are painted thangka and gilt bronze sculptures. These objects date primarily from the late 17th to 19th centuries, a golden age in the Buddhist arts of Bhutan. Ranging from rare tantric deities to portraits of Buddhist masters, the exhibition will present beautiful works of art and a wide iconographic range.

Mark your calendar now for February 23, 2008 and check back here for further details.