Mystic Vision, Sacred Art: Tibetan Thangka Painting in Kathmandu Valley

Examines the significance and process of Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting (paintings on canvas scrolls that are used for devotional and meditational practice) as created by artists in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Visits the painting workshop of Tharkela, a Tibetan refugee who has been painting thangka for fifty years, and tours the Dharmapala Center, a cooperative artists' union operated by more than fifty painters of Tamang origins. Shows the different processes of thangka painting from beginning to end, including the making of the canvas, the creation of paints, the positioning of the figure, and the exact sequence of the painting process. Illustrates the different artistic styles of the two ethnic groups. Explains how the thangka painting must be consecrated by Buddhist lamas in order for the spiritual essence of the deity to enter the painting.