Unattributed Video Art Series

Unattributed is an exhibition that showcases artists living in Tibet and in diaspora. The videos in this presentation, by anonymous Tibetan artists were collected and produced as part of an initiative by The Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection. In order to solicit the video works from a broad community of artists, an open call was launched more than two years ago through a website produced in English, Tibetan, and Chinese. Great lengths were taken to protect the identities of those who submitted and it was determined that all of the work would be presented without attribution, allowing for the display of otherwise inaccessible imagery.

Unattributed explores the tension between an ancient culture’s unbroken artistic tradition and the personality-driven world of contemporary art. Traditional Tibetan art employs a formal mode of artistic production aimed at supporting the transmission of Buddhist culture. The recent phenomena of self-expression in Tibetan culture has resulted in artists looking outside of their collective cultural tradition and forming contemporary art practices. The artists in this exhibition address contemporary issues such as, the impact of globalization, consumerism, environmentalism and cultural colonialism.

In collaboration with the Donald and Shelly Rubin Private Collection.
More information on the anonymous videos can be found at www.contemporarytibetanart.org.

Anonymous
Landscape Movements, 2013
Wooden shelf, 5 jars, sand, dirt, video, sound
8min 35sec

At the beginning of Landscape Movements, we are presented with what seems to be an aerial view of the earth. As it progresses, a hand pushes the earth toward the center of the image with a paint-brush, gradually revealing the outline of an ambiguous topographical map. At the end of the video, five jars are placed in front of the gathered earth—reminiscent of bowls that hold offerings in shrines—alluding to a sacredness inherent to the landscape of Tibet. The shelf above the video contains this earth, and has a contemporary altar-like form echoing religious sites.

Anonymous
The Barkhor, 2012
Video, sound
26min 46sec

Secretly filmed with a hidden camera and fish eye lens, this video functions as a contemporary portrait of the Jokhang temple, one of the most sacred Tibetan locations, and the main circumambulatory route called the Barkhor. Moving from daylight to dusk, it features a cast of pilgrims, shop-keepers, police, and military personnel. Throughout the route, the camera-person films and highlights—at huge personal risk—the inordinate police and military presence on the street. Without the use of traditional narration, The Barkhor comments on colonialism, the changing cityscape, and the commercialization of cultural tradition.

Anonymous
Lhasa Wind, 2013
Video, sound
1min 50sec

There are many philosophical implications in this poetic video. The drying of traditional clothing against a Himalayan landscape, bisected by a mass-produced fence, serves as a metaphor for the fragility of people’s lives in the face of modernity, our collective disconnect from nature, and the impact of cultural colonialism. Over the course of the film, the clothes are unceremoniously blown to the ground by the wind, suggesting a cruel indifference to the value of cultural tradition.

Anonymous
Matchsticks, 2012
Video, sound
13min 35sec

In Matchsticks, the sensitive subject of immolation is addressed. The video is a memorial for those who, because of political reasons, cannot have one. In the narration, the date, place and name of the protester are stated. Specifics of each site are narrowed down to a location, often a county, town or city, instead of a prefecture or region. The dorje (a symbol of enlightenment) illuminated by the strike of a match, is an instrument used by lamas in rituals and prayers. It is believed to cut through illusion to reveal truth. Many Tibetans see self-immolators as fulfilling this function.

Anonymous
Drifting, 2009
Video, sound
4min 30sec

Drifting examines environmental concerns and the recent phenomena of tourism. Initially, the viewer sees traditionally dressed oarsmen in a Gowa (Tibetan boat), rowing female passengers dressed in western clothing through a pristine landscape. The camera zooms out to reveal an industrial structure with a sign in Chinese. As suggested in the title, their journey doesn’t have a defined end point or goal. In Tibet, development and modernization are seen by many as the by-products of tourism, eroding the traditions, environment, and natural beauty of Tibet.

Anonymous
Scripture Noodle, 2009
Video, sound
8min

Embodying the friction between a contemplative artistic tradition and the need for new ideas and action, Scripture Noodle fuses symbols from both. A Tibetan pecha (book) is cut up, stir-fried and consumed in a small Chinese fast-food restaurant; this entails the digestion or disappearance of cultural systems to create a different energy, both metaphorically and physically.

Anonymous
Crazy of Silent, date unspecified
Video, sound
4min 54sec

Crazy of Silent tracks the progression of a caterpillar through an endless industrial expanse. Associations with Buddhist enlightenment come to mind, as the insect attempts to get to the sustenance necessary to complete its transformation. The fragmented narrative accompanying the piece is taken from numerous Chinese, American, and Korean news reports. Covering a range of themes, it begins with a philosophical question about why people exist at all. Some quotes reference ideas of freedom, such as Obama’s “In America we make our own destiny.” Along with other works in this exhibition, Crazy of Silent pits industrialization and modernity against nature.

Anonymous
Self, date unspecified
Video, sound
5min 47sec

In Self, a succession of young men and women inflate balloons until they pop. On each balloon, the word “self” is written in one of nine languages, including English, Tibetan, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and Arabic. There is a shared anticipation of the participants in the piece and those watching it. Through humor, the video addresses issues of identity and language, and refers to the concept of “no-self” or anatman. In Buddhist philosophy, it is believed that a person must understand the non-existence of self in order to achieve enlightenment. The subjects enact this idea, constructing “self,” only for it to blow up in their faces.