Rubin Museum of Art

03/19/2023

Spring has (almost) sprung!

Tomorrow is the first day of spring! Let's usher in the season of growth with this work featuring flower blooms, pastel pinks, and the Buddha of Immeasurable Light. 🌸🪷☀️

Buddha Amitabha, known as the Buddha of Immeasurable Light, is popular among all Tibetan Buddhist traditions. He is said to reside in his Realm of Great Bliss (Sukhavati), a desired realm of higher existence.

Depicted in red and wearing the traditional patchwork robes of a monk, he sits in the lotus position with his hands in a meditative gesture (dhyana mudra) holding a bowl of nectar. Here he is shown within a palace, accompanied by the Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Illustrating the wishes of practitioners and devotees, a scene at the lower center shows him receiving people entering his pure realm on a beam of rainbow light.
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Buddha Amitabha in His Pure Realm; Central Tibet; late 18th century; pigment on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.185 (HAR 200)

03/16/2023

Spirituality in the Age of Science: A Conversation With Alan Lightman

Join Pioneer Works for a conversation between the Rubin's Deputy Executive Director Tim McHenry, and acclaimed physicist and novelist Alan Lightman next Thursday, March 23!

Gazing at the stars, falling in love, or listening to music, we sometimes feel a transcendent connection with a cosmic unity and things larger than ours...

03/16/2023

"Death Is Not the End" opens tomorrow, Friday, March 17!

Our newest exhibition, "Death Is Not the End," opens tomorrow! To celebrate the opening, we're offering free admission all weekend.

https://rubinmuseum.org/events/event/death-is-not-the-end-opening-weekend-03-17-2023

03/14/2023

We were honored to collaborate with artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge on multiple exhibitions at the Rubin, including the 2016 exhibition "Try to Altar Everything." "Try to Altar Everything" explored the ways that Hindu mythology and Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley have influenced the artist and h/er work.

Both Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Nepal itself have long shirked the confines of “either/or.” Hybrid traditions are a fixture of life and culture in Nepal, as people may even identify as Hindu and Buddhist at the same time. Genesis, along with h/er late wife Lady Jaye, underwent physical alterations to create an elective and creative gender identity through their practice of Pandrogeny. The idea of identifying as both sides of a categorical option resonates with Nepalese approaches to identity and religion, as well as with Breyer P-Orridge’s own artistic practice, grounded in devotion and ritual.

Listen to Genesis Breyer P-Orridge share h/er expansive views on life, art, creativity, religion, and love: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/genesis-breyer-p-orridge-artist-extras

This year at the Rubin, we're focusing on , which includes the long-lasting legacy of those no longer with us. Throughout our 18 years open to the public, we've had many friends, collaborators, and contributors who have passed - join us in honoring them by reflecting on their .

📸: Drew Weidemann

03/13/2023

Every human comes to a powerful and often startling realization that our life inevitably ends.

Reminders of the inevitable demise helped motivate peoples’ conduct in everyday life while offering comfort. Many such mementos took the form of visual expressions found in art and culture. These images and objects present a glimpse into the human struggle with mortality and a confirmation of the precious opportunity to live well.

This painting tells a story about the transience of earthly life, which is subject to inevitable death and decay. Such images provided a moral check on human traits of vanity, pride, and valuing things of a fleeting nature—looks, clothing, even good health—calling on people to live a less selfish and more thoughtful, respectful life.

Learn more about the human condition as it relates to death in our exhibition “Death Is Not the End,” opening March 17.


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A Woman Divided into Two, Representing Life and Death; Austria, Germany, Switzerland, or North Italy; 1790–1820; oil on canvas; Wellcome Collection, London; 45063i

03/12/2023

Richard “Mac” McKinney, Bibi Bahrami, Josh Seftel, and Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary on Anger Brainwave: Emotions | Rubin Museum of Art

Tonight is the Oscars, and we can't wait to tune in!

We were thrilled to host a screening of the Best Documentary Short Film nominee, Stranger At The Gate, this fall at the Rubin as part of our Brainwave: Emotions series. The screening was followed by an insightful conversation exploring feelings of anger with filmmaker Joshua Seftel, the protagonists of the film, ex-marine Richard “Mac” McKinney and community leader Bibi Bahrami, and emotions researcher Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, PhD.

Visit the link to watch highlights from this talk: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/richard-mac-mckinney-bibi-bahrami-josh-seftel-and-dr.-tracy-dennis-tiwary

When we are blinded by anger, what helps us recognize the damage our rage wreaks on both ourselves and those around us? Ex-marine Richard “Mac” McKinney developed an anger fueled by lived experiences fighting in Afghanistan post-9/11, followed by fighting…

03/09/2023

What is samsara?

In Buddhism and Hinduism, samsara is the phenomenal world in which we live, and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. In Buddhism, samsara refers to the six realms of existence in which beings can be born according to their karma: as hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, demi-gods (Sanskrit asura), and gods. The central goal of Buddhism is to escape the suffering of samsara by achieving
nirvana, a state beyond this cycle of rebirths.

You may be familiar with samsara due the Wheel of Life. The Wheel of Life is a representation of Buddhist beliefs about the cycle of life, death, and rebirth known as samsara.

Want to brush up on common terms and vocabulary essential to learn about Himalayan art and cultures? The Rubin's new Project Himalayan Art website features a glossary of over 300 definitions and pronunciations!

Explore more terms on Project Himalayan Art: https://projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/glossary/

Want to learn more about samsara? Visit our upcoming exhibition “Death is Not The End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17.


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Wheel of Life; Tibet; 18th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.40.10 (HAR 591)

03/08/2023

Happy International Women's Day to all the women who follow us, work with us at the Rubin, and are depicted in the artwork of our collection!

This work depicts Magzor Gyalmo (Mongolian: Chog tegulder okin tngri), Queen Who Repels Armies. She is a wrathful emanation of the goddess Sarasvati and the special protector of the Dalai Lamas.

Mongolians became especially known for their large appliqués, examples of which can reach several stories tall. Scraps of multicolored Chinese silks in various patterns were cut to shape and cleverly integrated into a complex rendering. A variety of embroidery stitches and gold couching (gold-wrapped horsehair fastened to the appliqué with small stitches at regular intervals) delineate the details. Especially distinctive of Mongolian appliqué are tiny seed pearls and small coral beads stitched onto the textile surface. In general, sacred textiles such as this were designed by monks for important ritual occasions, and they were stitched mostly by women.
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Magzor Gyalmo, Queen Who Repels Armies; Mongolia; 18th century; silk applique with pearls, coral, horsehair, and gold thread; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; F1996.19.1 (HAR 472)

03/07/2023

We're so thrilled that frequent Rubin collaborator Tsherin Sherpa will be a recipient of the Asia Society's 2023 Asia Arts Game Changer Awards, with the ceremony taking place tomorrow, on March 8!

Tsherin Sherpa's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions at the Rubin, most recently in our "Healing Practices: Stories from Himalayan Americans" exhibition that closed in January.

You can also see his work, "Protector, 2013," currently on view in our Spiral lobby!
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Tsherin Sherpa (b. 1968, Kathmandu; lives and works in San Francisco); Protector, 2013; Gold leaf, acrylic and ink on canvas; Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection; C2013.213

03/05/2023

Dead bodies create dilemmas. Whether or not you believe in a soul and its afterlife, we all—saints, secularists, and spiritual seekers alike—have to cope with corpses

Read about the spiritual and secular afterlives of bodies in "Green Remains" by S. Brent Plate, featured in our Spiral 2020 Impermanence issue: https://rubinmuseum.org/spiral/green-remains

Join us as we explore through our artworks, programs, digital content, and upcoming exhibition, "Death is Not the End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17.

03/04/2023

Looking to learn more about the artwork on view at the Rubin?

Join us every Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM for an exhibition highlights tour - free with admission!

Purchase tickets: https://rubinmuseum.org/page/tickets

📸: FotoFilip - Filip Wolak Photography

03/03/2023

“The idea of resurrection comes up again and again, across time and cultures. It is one of the most persistent ideas to capture our imaginations, popping up in storytelling, traditional opera, and popular television. I am not referring to the risen corpses of the zombie-inspired television series The Walking Dead or other media. I mean fully conscious, fully aware people who come back from the dead as if they did not die.” - Excerpt from the 2020 Spiral article, “The Returned: When Death is Not The End,” by Elena Pakhoutova, the Senior Curator, Himalayan Art at the Rubin.

In Tibetan tales and popular culture the dead have a way of coming back with a purpose. Read the full article, from our Impermanence issue of : https://rubinmuseum.org/spiral/the-returned-when-death-is-not-the-end

Join us as we explore through our artworks, programs, digital content, and upcoming exhibition, "Death is Not the End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17.



🖌️ Marcellus Hall

03/02/2023

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Sunday to celebrate Losar!

Our Losar Family Day was a huge success, with amazing performances by students at YindaYin Coaching, a musical performance by Tibetan singer Techung, a variety of art-making activities for the whole family, and a special visit from Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine!

📸: FotoFilip - Filip Wolak Photography

03/01/2023

Celebrate the opening of our new exhibition, "Death Is Not the End," with our Opening Night Celebration on Friday, March 17! The night will feature free admission, music by Roshni Samlal, specialty cocktails, an exhibition tour, and temporary tattoos!

Can't join us on Friday night? We have free admission all weekend to celebrate the exhibition opening! Visit "Death Is Not the End" and the rest of our galleries for free, all day on Friday, March 17 through Sunday, March 19. Stop by the lobby at 12:00 PM or 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 18 for a demonstration of Tibetan Buddhist cham dance, traditionally performed mostly by monks to observe religious holidays and auspicious events.

Reserve your tickets now! https://rubinmuseum.org/events/event/opening-night-celebration-03-17-2023

02/28/2023

Can letting go of our fears around death be the ultimate act of awakening?

In AWAKEN Season 1 Episode 8, we explored how the process of dying can be an act of truly living. In this episode, we spoke with hospice and palliative medicine physician and author BJ Miller, who discussed his first encounter with death, facing his own mortality as a triple amputee, and what it means to have a good death.

Listen to the full episode: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/dying-is-living-with-palliative-care-doctor-bj-miller-awaken-podcast

Join us as we explore through our artworks, programs, digital content, and upcoming exhibition, "Death Is Not the End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17.

02/27/2023

Do you extend compassion and loving kindness to yourself?

We often neglect to show ourselves the love and forgiveness we extend to others. In last week's in-person Mindfulness Meditation session, teacher Rebecca Li showed us how to start the process of mindfully including yourself in your practice of unconditional loving.

Weren't able to make last week's program? Listen to our Mindfulness Meditation podcast, which will feature a recording of this session in this Friday's episode.

Listen now and learn more about at the Rubin: https://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation
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Bodhisattva Maitreya; Kham Province, Eastern Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art; C2002.35.2 (HAR 65201)

02/24/2023

What can the life of Milarepa, the great mystical poet of Tibet, reveal about impermanence and death?

At one point during his life, Milarepa’s single possession was a cooking pot that broke when he fell down a mountain. Instead of being filled with despair over losing his only possession, he was inspired, and sang a yogic song that begins, “I once had a pot, now I do not.” It ends:

This clay pot so important, the whole of my wealth,
Becomes my lama in the moment it breaks,
Teaching impermanence, how amazing!

Impermanence plays a central role in Buddhism and is a key element in the challenges of the human condition. On the most obvious level, impermanence manifests as death. For the Buddhist practitioner, the refusal to acknowledge the inevitability of death is one of the first obstacles to overcome.

Read more about impermanence, death, and Milarepa’s pot in the article “Impermanence Can Set Us Free” by John Dunne.

https://rubinmuseum.org/spiral/impermanence-can-set-us-free

Join us as we explore through our artworks, programs, digital content, and upcoming exhibition, "Death Is Not the End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17.


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Lama (Teacher), Milarepa; Tibet; 18th century; ground mineral pigment on cotton; Rubin Museum of Art; gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.460 (HAR 921)

02/23/2023

Want to brush up on common terms and vocabulary essential to learn about Himalayan art and cultures? The Rubin's new Project Himalayan Art website features a glossary of over 300 definitions and pronunciations! Let's start with bardo!

Generally, bardo is the state in-between death and rebirth, but Tibetan traditions distinguish four or six bardos, which occur throughout life, such as the bardo of dreaming, and death.

The bardos are junctures at which the possibility for awakening, or liberation, is amplified. The so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead,” as well as other texts, provide guidance for navigating these states, so that the consciousness of the deceased can be born in fortunate realms of existence, or even enter into awakened state itself.

Explore more terms on Project Himalayan Art: https://projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/glossary/

Want to learn more about the bardo? Visit our upcoming exhibition “Death Is Not the End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17. Also, as a part of our year-long exploration of , visit the Rubin to experience Life After: The Bardo, opening March 17. This interactive features recitations of two bardo ritual texts, including a full recitation of an English translation of Liberation upon Hearing in the Bardo.
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Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Bardo; Tibet; 19th century; ground mineral pigments on cotton; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.539 (HAR 1015)

02/22/2023

Buddha Shakyamuni’s passing can reveal a lot about Tibetan Buddhist beliefs.

In Buddhism, individuals become awakened or achieve enlightenment but continue to live out the remainder of their natural lives. They pass on into the final state at their deaths, called “parinirvana.”

Most importantly, this term refers to the Buddha Shakyamuni’s parinirvana at Kushinagara when he laid down between two trees and died. The event accompanied by many miracles is one of the Eight Great Events and one of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha’s life, and is a very common topic for Buddhist illustration.

Join us as we explore through our artworks, programs, digital content, and upcoming exhibition, "Death Is Not the End," which explores notions of death and afterlife through the art of Tibetan Buddhism and Christianity, opening on March 17.


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Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes From His Life; Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.222 (HAR 275)

02/22/2023

Tao Porchon-Lynch was a frequent collaborator at the Rubin, including teaching yoga in our space as part of Art & Yoga Urban Retreat in collaboration with Yoga Love magazine .

In 2016, the Rubin was also lucky enough to have the yoga master on our stage as part of The Wisdom Matrix series. In this program, Tao Porchon Lynch spoke with psychologist Karl Pillemer about the secrets of a good life.

Tao Porchon-Lynch had a lot to add to this discussion, as she was still active, practicing yoga at age 101, and lived a life truly in service of others. Among her teachers were legendary mind/body practitioners like Sri Aurobindo, BKS Iyengar, K Pattabhi Jois, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. She marched with Mahatma Gandhi in the 1930 Salt March, helped Jews escape the N***s as a French Resistance fighter during World War II, and walked with Martin Luther King.



📸: Chas Kimbrell