Thangka Article

8/12/2019 Thangka Article

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h e e l e c t r o n i c

s k e t c h b o o k o f

i b e t a n h a n g k a

p a i n t i n g

Ranj i t akkuni

System Sciences Laboratory, Xerox Palo Alto

Research Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA

The electronic sketch book of Thangka

painting project is conceived as a way of

using interactive video and computing

technology to preserve and disseminate

the craft of Tibetan Thangka painting -

a 2000-year-old art form now threatened

with deterioration. This paper first pro-

vides a description of the project and then

examines the research questions about the

relationship of electronic technology and

design craft. Second, it illustrates the pre-

liminary work towards the construction of

a prototype electronic Thangka sketch

book. The sketch book enables novice stu-

dents of Thangka Painting to explore

Thangka-related topics. Its multimedia

database includes video records of finished

Thangka paintings, compositional tech-

niques, sample sketches, catalogues of

painting elements, curatorial analyses, and

scences of Tibetan cultural life. The sketch

book's interface permits novice students to

explore the database at their own pace,

through direct interaction with diagrams

and images of Thangka paintings.

Key words: Tibetan Thangka painting -

Visual language - Hyper media - Repre-

sentation of design process - Craft preser-

vation - Craft dissemination - User inter-

face

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Among the many expressions of Tibetan art that

we have come to admire are the paintings known

as Tha ngka. Typically, images on Thangka

paintings, like those expressed in stone and metal,

represent the various deities that populate the Ti-

betan artistic pantheon (Tucci 1949; Pal 1983).

Blazing with symbolism, their purpose is to trans-

port the viewer into the supernatural and para-

disiacal world of the deity, a world conceptualized

by theologians and visualized by artists for count-

less generations.

Visually expressive and stimulating as these images

are, the depiction of the various deities on Thang-

kas is regulated by precise rules of composition.

Some of these rules of composition are represented

in canonica l treatises describing verbally the basic

iconography of the various deities. Other rules are

expressed visually through proportioni ng diagrams

and sample sketches of deities. The sketches dem-

onstrate, for example, various compositional

schemes of Thangkas: the postures of deities, the

gestures that deities make with their hands, the

symbolic objects that their hands clasp, the render-

ing of the deities' garments and accessories, and

landscape elements that echo the deities' spiritual

qualities. These rules of composition are timeless,

as they were passed down from master to pupil

through successive generations, the medium of

transmission consisting of proport ioning diagrams,

sample sketches, and verses in Tibetan canonical

treatises.

Today a variety of forces threaten the practice of

Thangka painting, moving the craft towards

irrevocable simplification. As a part of a monu-

mental task to preserve the artistic heritage of T i -

b e t the remaining Thangka painters, at the request

of the Dalai Lama, have become wanderers, travel-

ing the world as a living archive, and carrying with

them the knowledge of the ways of Thangka paint-

ing. The electronic sketch book of Tibetan Thang-

ka pa inting project is conceived as a way of using

computing and video representations to preserve

Thangka imagery and the cultural context in which

it is created, and as a way to use these representa-

tions to reveal the process of composing Thangkas.

The projec t is a collabora tive effort between Senge

Lama, one of the last two living artists of the Kar -

ma Gadr i style of Thangka painting, Xerox re-

searchers, the curators of the Asian Art Museum

of San Francisco, and the Tibetan community.

The sketch book has two roles: a passive preserva-

tion role and an active dissemination role. In the

passive role the sketch book takes form as a chroni-

The Visual Computer(1989) 5:227-242

9 Springer-Verlag1989 7

Ranjit Makkuni: The electronic sketch book of Tibetan Thangka painting. The Visual Computer 5(4):227-242 (1989)


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Fig. 1. Thangka painting of Goddess Green

Tara 15th century the Cleveland Museum of

Art Purchase from the J.H. Wade Fund 70.156

cle, an audiovisual diary of Thangka imagery like

its traditional predecessors expressed by manu-

script illuminations and narrative paintings. In the

active role, the sketch book is a medium of trans-

mission, connecting the Thangka master and be-

ginning painters, mediating between painters and

the records in the diary in electronic form, and

re-integrating the historical practice with contem-

porary tools. Related work on interactive educa-

tional media projects are available in the references

(Morrel and Trigg 1987; Yankelovitch et al. 1988;

Wilson 1988).

This paper first exposes the research questions

about the relationship of technology and craft. Sec-

ond, it discusses preliminary research into the con-

struction of a prototype sketch book for instruc-

tional use within the craft environment for Thang-

ka painting. The sketch book contains a database

of sounds and images of the process of Thangka

composition, including audio recordings of conver-

8

sations, computational graphic representations,

video-based re-enactments of compositions and

sketches, and video stills. The content of the data-

base serves to expose the beginning painter to the

various deities of the Tibetan pantheon, their my-

thologies and symbolism, proportioning and ren-

dering skills, the practice of Thangkas as a cultural

activity. The scenes of action are complemented

by scenes of Tibetan life, folk songs, verbal invoca-

tions and chanting of deities, and conversations

with Senge and experts on existing Thangkas. The

sketch book s user interface models the content of

the diverse elements in the database and provides

navigational mechanisms.

The student painter interacts with the Thangka

sketch book, calligraphically using a diagrammat ic

language. The diagrammatic language provides a

means for presenting the content of the database,

as well as a means for indexing and retrieving cate-

gories of elements in the database. The interact ion


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Fig. 2. Proportioning Diagram of Goddess

Green Tara drawn by Wangdrak

Copyright 1988 Snow Lion Publications

Ithaca

l a n g u a g e p r o v i d e s a b a s i s f o r e x a m i n i n g t h e m e s

o f c o n t i n u i t y a n d c h a n g e a s i t b r id g e s b e t w e e n

T h a n g k a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n t r a d i t i o n a l m e d i a a n d

p r o c e s s - o r i e n t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n e l e c t r o n i c m e -

d i a. T h e r e m a i n d e r o f t h i s p a p e r is o r g a n i z e d i n t o

t h r e e s e c t i o n s : (1 ) t h e p r o j e c t ' s m o t i v a t i o n s a n d r e -

s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s ; (2 ) d a t a b a s e o f T h a n g k a i m a g e r y ;

a n d (3 ) d i a g r a m m a t i c u s e r i n t e rf a c e .

M o t i v a t i o n s a n d

r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s

To g l ance fo r t he f i r st t i m e a t t he pa i n t i n g i l lu s t r a t -

e d o n F i g . 1 , i s t o b e t r a n s p o r t e d t o a n e v o c a t i v e

w o r l d c h a r g e d w i t h f a n t a s y a n d s y m b o l i s m . T h e

i m a g e d e p i c t e d is n o t a p o r t r a i t , b u t a s y m b o l o f

t h e G o d d e s s G r e e n T a r a , t h e m o t h e r o f a ll th e B u d -

d h a s . T h e p a i n t i n g is c a ll e d T h a n g k a .

T h e w o r d T h a n g k a l it er al ly m e a n s s o m e t h i n g

t h a t i s r o l l e d u p ; h e n c e , a r o l l e d - u p i m a g e o r a

pa i n t i ng s c ro l l .

T h e c e n t e r s ta g e o f a T h a n g k a p a i n t i n g i s u s u a l l y

o c c u p i e d b y a d e i t y . I n t h i s p a i n t i n g , t h e G o d d e s s ,

s u m p t o u s l y b e d e c k e d w i t h j e w e ls , is s i t ti n g i n a

r e la x e d p o s t u r e w i th o n e l eg l o c k e d a n d t h e o t h e r

l e g p e n d a n t o n a d o u b l e l o t u s p e d e s t a l . A l o t u s

s u p p o r t s h e r p e n d a n t r i g h t l e g f o r, i n d e e d , h e r f ee t

c a n n o t r e s t o n t h e p h y s i c a l e a r t h . H e r r i g h t h a n d

e x t e n d s o v e r h e r k n e e w i t h p a l m f a c in g o u t w a r d s

i n t he ges t u re o f r ea s s u r anc e . S i m i l a r l y , he r l e ft

h a n d , e x p r e s s i n g t h e g e s t u r e o f e x p o s i t i o n , h o l d s

a b l u e l o t u s fl o w e r. P o s i t io n e d a r o u n d t h e p e r i m e -

t e r o f t h e t h r o n e a n d f l a n k in g t h e G o d d e s s a r e

e l e p h a n t s , d e e r s , l i o n s , a n d m y t h i c a l a n i m a l s ,

w h o s e p u r p o s e i s t o e m p h a s i z e t h e m a j e s ty o f t h e

c e n t r a l p e rs o n a g e . F o r e x a m p l e , o n t o p o f t h e

t h r o n e b e h i n d t h e g o d d e s s i s a m a s k o f a m y t h i c a l

9


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animal b i t ing on two serpants ; and below i t a re

two cro codi le- l ike myth ica l an ima ls wi th the i r ta i l s

in curv i l inear fo l ia t ion . The Goddess i s en throned

inside a t ie red temple wi th three s tupas on top .

Su r round ing t he t emp le a re numerous t ree s among

which are bannana , pa lm, and the f icus re l ig iosa ,

the t ree of en l ightenment . A sm al l f igure of a m on k

on the le f t i s possib ly the donor of the pa in t ing .

These symbols of express ive postures , gestures , o r-

na te thrones , and landscapes form a r ich v isual

l anguage, w h ich is t he accep t ed med ium o f com mu-

nica t ion be tween the pa in ter and the v iewer.

Despi te the bewi ldering comple xi ty of the pa in t ing ,

the technica l basis for T han gka pain t ings i s a series

of rec t i l inear d iagram s (Fig . 2). The depic t ion of

the various de i t ies on Thangkas i s regula ted and

ordered by very prec ise ru les of composi t ion ,

amo ng th em the t heo ri e s o f t he bod i ly p ropo r t i ons

of the various de i t ies tha t ma ke up the Tibetan

art i s tic panthe on. The ru les of compo si t ion ,

handed dow n gene ra t i on a f t e r gene ra t i on f rom

mas t e r t o pup i l, h ave been t he means o f t r an smi t -

t ing the craf t for the las t 2000 years . These theories

a re no t t he w ork o f one a r t i s t o r gene ra t i on , bu t

the wor k of genera t ions of c raf t smen, the fru i t o f

communa l t hough t . A cco rd ing t o t he eminen t a r t

h i s t o r i an Co om aras w am y (1964 ):

This communal thought i s not only the popular thought , but

that of the greates t and wises t minds seeking to impress thei r

vision on successive generations. However there is a fatal weak-

ness of comm unal ar t : i t has no power to res ist the corrupt ion

from without. It is beautiful by habit , rather by intention, so

a single gener ation u nder chang ed con ditions is sufficient to

destroy it .

The an nexa t ion of Tibet in 1959 caused the exodus

o f T ibe t ans f rom the i r home land . T ibe t an monas -

ter ies , once the r ich reposi tor ies of Th ang ka pain t -

ings and o ther cu l tured ar t i fac ts , were impover-

i shed and man y o f t he i r pa in t i ngs w ere des t royed .

Ma ny o f t he pa in te r s and o the r c ra f t smen w ere

sca t te red in var ious refugee se t t lements a l l over the

world . In a ba t t le to preserve and reconst ruc t the

cul tura l cont inui ty , Tibet ' s t empora l leader , the

D a la i Lam a , has a sked pa in t e r s and c ra f t smen to

disseminate the t rad i t ions in the West . Thus the

pain ters have become wanderers , t ravel ing the

world as a l iving archive. It is in these painters,

mor e t ha n i n co l lec t ions o f Tha ngka pa in t ings i n

museum s , t ha t w e f i nd t he know ledge o f t he ~

of pa in t ing .

W e unde rs t and c ra f t i s a communa l p rocess o f

making ar t i fac ts in which the designers are in-

volved wi th the w hole process of design , especia l ly

in the develo pme nt of too ls and su pport ive t rad i -

t ions an d the acqui r ing of han d sk il ls . His tor ica l ly ,

i t has been ident i f ied wi th producing ar t i fac ts tha t

were necessary for l ife and hence i t s beaut y i s born

in communal use (Yanagi 1972; Smi th and Lucie-

23

Fig. 3. Temple designer exercising a

gestura l language to in teract ively

compose temple facades. Various threads

tie up the different activities over t ime in

a temple designer s deriva tive process


5/16

Smi t h 1 9 8 6 ) . T h e e l e c t r o n i c s k e t c h b o o k p r o j e c t

i s c o n c e i v e d a s a w a y o f e x a m i n i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l

o f i n t e r a c t iv e c o m p u t e r a n d v i d e o t e c h n o l o g i e s to -

w a r d s p r e s e r v i n g a n d d i s s e m i n a t i n g d e s i g n c ra f t.

O u r e x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h e u s e o f c o m p u t i n g a n d v i d -

e o t o s u p p o r t c r a f t s m e n a n d d e s i g n e r s a r i s e s f r o m

p r o j e c t s th a t w e s u c c e s sf u ll y c o m p l e t e d ( M a k k u n i

1 98 7), i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e c o m p o s i t i o n o f C h i n e s e

t e m p l e f a c a d e s ( F ig . 3 ). W e e x p l o r e d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y

o f r e p r e s e n t i n g s u c c e s s f u l d e s i g n p r o c e s s e s - d i r e c t -

l y r e s p r e s e n t i n g t h e p r o c e s s o f f o r m a t i o n o f t h e

a r t if a c t , n o t j u s t t h e e n d a r t i f a ct , in c o m p u t a t i o n a l

f o r m - a n d o f u s i n g t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t o p r e s e r v e

t h e s u c c e s s f u l p r o c e s s e s . I n o t h e r w o r k ( H a r r i s o n

1 9 8 6 ; S t u l t s 1 9 8 6 ) , w e h a v e e x p l o r e d t h e r e p r e s e n -

t a t i o n o f d e s i g n p r o c e ss e s a s r e c o r d s o n v i d e o t a p e

a n d v i d e o d i s k . B a s e d o n t h e s e e x p l o r a t i o n s , w e

b e l ie v e t h a t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f p ro c e s s , w h e n r e -

p e a t e d a n d r e - e n a c t e d a c r o s s si t u a ti o n s , c o n n e c t

m e m b e r s i n a d e s ig n g r o u p a c r o ss t i m e , c o m m u n i -

c a t e e x p e ri e n c e b e t w e e n m e m b e r s a n d a c r o ss p r o -

j e c t s , a n d p r o v i d e a b a s i s f o r f o r m a l i z e d d e s i g n

c r a ft . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f d e s ig n e x -

p e r i e n c e a r e v a l u a b l e i n e d u c a t i n g p e o p l e a b o u t

t h e c r a f t . T h e y c a n p r o v i d e b e g i n n i n g d e s i g n e r s

w i t h a r i c h l i b r a r y o f p r e v i o u s l y p r e s e r v e d s c e n e s

w h i c h , i n t u r n , m a y b e a s s i m i l a t e d i n t o f u t u r e d e -

s i g n p r a c t i c e . W h e n v i e w e d o v e r l o n g p e r i o d s o f

t i me , d e s i g n c r a f t c a n b e v i e w e d i n a s t a t e o f f l u x :

s o m e i n t h e p r o c e s s o f f o r m a t i o n , e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n ,

s i m p l i fi c a ti o n o r , a s in t h e c a s e o f T h a n g k a p a i n t -

i n g , i n t h e p r o c e s s o f d e t e r i o r a t i o n .

W e i n t e n d t o e x t e n d o u r e x p e r i e n c e w i t h r e p r e s e n t -

i n g p r o c e s s t o T h a n g k a p a i n t i n g . A s w e h a v e n o t -

e d , t r a d i t io n a l l y , T h a n g k a p a i n t i n g h a s b e e n t r a n s -

m i t t e d b y s t r u c t u r e d r u l es o f c o m p o s i t i o n . A l -

t h o u g h t h e s e r u l e s a r e h i g h l y e v o l v e d a n d s t a b l e ,

t h e y d o n o t e x c l u d e a r t is t ic e x p l o r a t i o n .

T h e i m a g e s o f de it ie s c o m m o n l y d e p i c t ed o n

T h a n g k a s , a l o n g w i t h t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s e x p r e s s e d

i n a v a r i e t y o f m e d i a s u c h as s t o n e , m e t a l , o r

w o o d s c u l p t u r e s , i n k m a n u s c r i p t i l l u s t r a t i o n s

p a i n t e d o n p a p e r a n d c l o t h , a c r y l i c a n d w a t e r c o l o r

p a i n t i n g s o n c o t t o n a n d s i l k b a n n e r s , a n d m u r a l

p a i n t i n g s a n d i n s c r i p ti o n s o n t h e w a l ls o f m o n a s -

t e r i es - c e r t a i n l y i l lu s t r a t e t h e t e c h n i c a l p r o w e s s

o f th e a r t i s ts i n a d h e r i n g t o t h e r u le s o f c o m p o s i -

t i o n b u t , a t t h e s a m e t i me , a l s o il l u s t r a t e t h e a r t i s t s '

i m a g i n a t i v e p o w e r o f v i s u a li z a ti o n . T h o u g h a ll a r t -

i st s o b e y t h e r u l e s o f c o m p o s i t i o n , n o t w o p a i n t i n g s

o r s c u l p t u r e s a r e a l ik e . T h e m a n y d i f f e r e n t e x e c u -

t i o n s o f t h e s a me d e i t y i l l u s t ra t e t h e d e l i c a t e r e l a -

t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n , f ir s t, t h e a r t i s t s ' t e c h n i c a l v i r t u o s -

i t y i n t h e m e d i u m t o e x p r e s s t h e t h e o l o g i a n s '

v i s io n s a n d , s e c o n d , t h e i m a g i n a t i v e p o w e r o f th e

a r t i s t s i n r e n d e r i n g t h e s e v i s i o n s t o r e f l e c t t h e a r t -

i st s' l o ve , d e v o t i o n a n d a d m i r a t i o n o f th e d e i t y b e -

i n g d e p i c t e d . T h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p , b e t w e e n t h e r e -

m a r k a b l e c o n f o r m i t y t o b a si c ic o n o g r a p h y a n d t h e

e t h n i c s t y l i z a t i o n o f t h e d e i t i e s, is a l s o f e lt i n t h e

v a r i o u s c o u n t r i e s w h e r e B u d d h i s m f l o u r i s h e d ( P a l

1984).

T h e s e i m a g e s , r e g a rd l e s s o f m e d i u m , t i m e a n d

p l a c e , i ll u s t r a t e t h e a r t i s t s ' f a i th f u l n e s s t o t h e w e l l-

e s t a b l is h e d r u l e s o f c o m p o s i t i o n , a n d t h e i r a b i li t y

t o a c c o m m o d a t e a r t i s t i c e x p l o r a t i o n w i t h i n t h o s e

r u le s . T h i s m a k e s t h e e x p r e s s io n o f T h a n g k a s b y

a p p l y in g s t r u c t u r e d c o m p u t i n g a n d v i de o m a c h i n -

e r y a d o m a i n w o r t h y o f e x a m i n a t i o n .

A d m i t t e d l y , i t w o u l d b e s c h o l a r l y c o n c e i t b l i n d e d

b y o p t i m i s m t o b e l i e v e t h a t i n b r i n g i n g e l e c t r o n i c

t e c h n o l o g y to t h e c r a ft o f T h a n g k a p a i n t in g c h a n g e

is n o t i n e s c a p a b l e . E l e c t r o n i c t e c h n o l o g y h e r a l d s

c h a n g e w i t h t h e p o te n t i a l o f b o t h i m p r o v e m e n t a n d

d e g r a d a t i o n o f th e p r o c e s s o f c r a ft . A m i d s t t h i s

d i l e m m a o f c h a n g e , w e c a n n o t r e m a i n s a t i sf i ed b y

m e r e l y s h i rk i n g t h e u s e o f e l e c t r o n i c t e c h n o l o g y

t o p r e s e r v e a n d d i s s e m i n a t e t h e c r a ft o f T h a n g k a

p a i n t in g . I n a n y e v e n t , o u r u s e o r a v o i d a n c e i s m e a -

s u r e d a g a i n s t t h e f o r c e s e n d a n g e r i n g t h e c r a f t : r a -

p i d c o l l e c ti n g o f T h a n g k a s , c o m m e r c i a l i z i n g

T h a n g k a s , s i m p l if y i ng t h e p r o c e s s o f c r e a t i n g

T h a n g k a s t o m e e t t h e to u r i st s ' d e m a n d f o r m o m e n -

t o s , a n d p a i n t e r s a b a n d o n i n g t h e i r c r a f t i n s e a r c h

o f e c o n o m i c o p p o r t u n i t y . T h e s e f o rc e s a r e a l r e a d y

m o v i n g t h e p r a c ti c e o f T h a n g k a p a i n ti n g t o w a r d

i r r e v o c a b l e s i m p l i fi c a ti o n , t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , o r d e g -

r a d a t i o n . T i m e l i n e s s is i m p o r t a n t ; d e l a y m i g h t

l e a v e o n l y a n e x t i n c t c r a f t . H e n c e , w e p r o p o s e t o

b r i n g e l e c t ro n i c t e c h n o l o g y to T h a n g k a p a i n t i n g

n o w , a n d t o d o s o w i t h g r e a t r e v e r a n c e f o r th e

c r a f t , a s d i d t h e c o u n t l e s s g e n e r a t i o n s o f p a i n t e r s

w h o p r o d u c e d t h e s e a g e le s s, a d m i r a b l e p a i n t in g s .

2 1 Preservation of the process

of composing Thangkas

T h e p u r p o s e o f t h e e l e c t r o n i c s k e t c h b o o k is t o

a i d i n t h e p r a c t ic e a n d i n s t r u c t i o n o f T h a n g k a s .

T h e c r a f t e n v i r o n me n t w i l l s t i l l i n c l u d e a c t u a l

p a i n t i n g s , b u t t h e p u r p o s e h e r e i s n o t t o s t u d y o r

d i s p l a y t h e f i n i s h e d p a in t i n g s, f o r m u s e u m e x h i b i-

t i o n s a n d b o o k s d o t h a t w e l l e n o u g h . R a t h e r , o u r

23


6/16

purpose i s t o i n t roduce i n to t he c ra f t env i ronm en t

a med ium tha t i s fundam en ta l l y abou t p rocess , and

hence abo ut the sense of t ime. A craf t sman takes

ac t ions t ow ards a Thangk a , such a s gene ra t i ng an

element or composing a whole pa in t ing . Like the

scho l a r o r mu seum cu ra to r w ho examines and col -

lec ts f in ished pain t ings , we are concerned wi th re-

present ing and co l lec t ing the scenes of ac t ions in

w h ich t he c ra f t smen c rea t e t he Thangkas .

Through these scenes , each ac t ion , however la rge

or sm al l, whe ther i t i s the shading of a de i ty ' s eyes ,

or examining the d i fferen t composi t ional schemes

for a wh ole pa in t ing , wi l l be capable of re-enact-

ment . By the re-enact ing process , beginning pain t -

ers or specta tors can re t rac e the ac t ions of the

Thangka mas t e r and l ea rn t he c ra f t t h rough ac -

tion.

The i n t roduc t i on o f a new com mun ica t i on and rep -

re sen t a t i ona l med iu m i s bound t o a f fect t he p rac -

t ice of Thangka pain t ing . The research chal lenge

is to exam ine the na tu re o f a c raf t p rocess tha t

i s be ing renewe d - and a l te red - us ing the e lec t ron-

ic ske tch book. Thus, we wi l l be led to ask : How

can t he v i sua l w or ld o f t he t rad i t i ona l med ia be

brought in to s tab le ba lance wi th the v isual world

o f co lo r mon i to rs and co lo r p r i n t e r s , bo th i n t he

sense of the i r appe aran ce (recept ive ac t ion) and of

the craf t -person 's ab i l i ty to ac t on the m (produc t ive

act ion)? How can the craf t -person acqui re , experi -

ence, and subsequen t ly impar t t he l ea rn ing o f hand

ski l l s us ing e lec t ronic technology? How wi l l the

e l ec t ron i c env i ronmen t suppo r t t he c ra f t -pe rson ' s

evolv ing cont r ibut ion to the craf t? Wil l the aura

e lec t ronic me dia inf luence the sensib il it i es of the

T h a n g k a m a s te r ?

2 2 Dissemination

The idea of d issemina t ing t rad i tions , whe ther

pain ted or wri t ten , by re-enactment i s deeply root -

ed in r i tua l . Even today , Tibetan shrines and Indi -

an temples wi tness a fami l ia r in i t ia t ion r i tua l : a

young chi ld , the ch i ld 's parents , and a renowned

teacher s i t a round a la rge meta l l ic urn f i l led wi th

an auspic ious heap of r ice . Eventual ly , the teach er

si ts beside the young child, clasps the child 's arm,

and ceremoniously guides the ch i ld 's f ingers to

ma rk the form o f le t te rs on the hea p of r ice . The

resu l t ing le t te rs a re undoubtedly lacking in grace ,

but the ac t of the f i rs t wri t ing symbol izes the ch i ld's

en t rance i n to t he l i t era t e w or ld o f l e a rn ing unde r

the guidan ce of a teacher (Sm i thsonian 1986).

Simi lar ly , our v is ion of d isseminat ing craf t i s in -

sp i red f rom the ro l e o f t he t eache r enac t i ng and

guid ing the ch i ld 's hands in the in i t ia t ion r i tua l .

Th ro ugh t he re -enac tm en t o f t he pa in t i ng p rocess

- ou t l in ing a de i ty ' s proport ions , rendering a

dei ty 's lo tus throne , shading the c louds tha t whi r l

in the bac kgr oun d - the beginning pain ter wi l l feel

the sp i r i t o f the ma ster a nd the t imeless ways of

gene ra t i ons o f Thangka mas t e r s , gu id ing t he ac -

qui r ing of pa in t ing sk il ls . The m asters ' ske tches

d i ag ram ming t he compos i t i on and rende r ing o f t he

various de i t ies have been passed down, genera t ion

through genera t ion , in pupi l la ry succession , to

Fig. 4 . A prototyp e

elect ronic sketch book:

video moni tors on the lef t

display images f rom the

database; computer user

interface provides the

student access into the

database

3


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g u i d e t h e d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f t h e i r c r a f t i n w a y s t h a t

w o u l d g u a r a n t e e t h e i m m u t a b i l i t y o f t h e c o m p o s i -

t iona l p r i c ip l es .

T h i s s e c t i o n p r o v i d e d a d e s c r i p t i o n o f p r o j e c t a n d

t h e r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f

t e c h n o l o g y a n d c r a ft . T h e f o l l o w i n g t w o s e c t io n s

w i ll d is c u s s th e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a p r o t o t y p e s k e t c h

b o o k o f T h a n g k a p a i nt in g . T h e p r o t o t y p e e n a b l e s

n o v i c e s tu d e n t s o f T h a n g k a p a i n t i n g t o e x p l o r e

T h a n g k a - r e l a t e d t o p i c s . I t s m u l t i m e d i a d a t a b a s e

i n c l u d e s v id e o r e c o r d s o f f i n is h e d T h a n g k a p a i n t -

i n g s , c o m p o s i t i o n a l t e c h n i q u e s , s a m p l e s k e t c h e s ,

c a t a l o g u e s o f p a i n t i n g e l e m e n t s , c u r a t o r i a l a n a l y -

s e s, a n d s c e n e s o f T i b e t a n c u l t u r a l l if e. T h e s k e t c h

b o o k ' s i n t e r fa c e p e r m i t s n o v i c e s t u d e n t s t o e x p l o r e

t h e s k e t c h b o o k a t t h e i r o w n p a c e , t h r o u g h d i r e c t

i n t e ra c t i o n w i th d i a g r a m s a n d i m a g e s o f T h a n g k a

p a i n t in g s . F i g u r e 4 i ll u s tr a t e s t h e o u t w a r d a p p e a r -

a n c e o f th e e l e c t r o n i c s k e t c h b o o k : t h e v i d e o m o n i -

t o r s o n t h e l e ft d i s p l a y im a g e s f r o m t h e d a t a b a s e ;

a n d t h e c o m p u t e r u s e r i n t e r f a c e o n t h e r i g h t p r o -

v i d es t h e s t u d e n t a c c e s s i n t o t h e d a t a b a s e . A c c o r d -

i n g l y , t h e n e x t t w o s e c t i o n s w i l l d i s c u s s : t h e c o n -

s t ru c t i o n o f a d a t a b a s e o f T h a n g k a i m a g e r y ; a n d

t h e u s e r i n t e r f a c e to t h e d a t a b a s e .

A d a t a b a s e o f T h a n g k a i m a g e r y

T h e a r t i s ti c p a n t h e o n o f T i b e t is p o p u l a t e d b y v a r -

i o u s d i v i n i t ie s o f t h e B u d d h i s t f a i t h , n a t u r e s p i r it s

w h o r e s i d e i n t h e m o u n t a i n s , p a s s e s a n d r i v e r s o f

T i b e t , a n d v a r i o u s m y s t i c s a n d s a i n t s w h o h a v e

a t t a i n e d e n l i g h t e n m e n t . T h e d i f f er e n t m e m b e r s o f

t h e p a n t h e o n g e n e r a l l y p e r s o n i f y k n o w l e d g e , i n -

s ig h t o r c o m p a s s i o n ( B h a t t a c h a r y a 1 96 8; C o o m a r -

a s w a my 1 9 7 2 ) .

T h e r e p r e s e n t a t io n o f th e v a r i o u s m e m b e r s o f t h e

a r t is t ic p a n t h e o n a n d n a r r a t i v e b i o g r a p h i e s o f t h e

m e m b e r s a r e f a v o r i te t h e m e s o f T h a n g k a p a i nt e rs .

T h a n g k a p a i n te r s h a v e l o n g b e e n r e q u i r e d to l e a r n

p r e c i se r u l e s o f c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e v a r i o u s d e i ti e s

w h i c h w e r e d o c u m e n t e d i n i c o n o g r a p h i c m a n u a l s .

T h e i c o n o g r a p h i c a l m a n u a l s p r o v i d e d t h e p a i n t e r s

w i t h b o t h v i s u a l a n d v e r b a l m o d e l s : T h e v i s u a l

m o d e l s ( L a m a 1 9 8 1; J a c k s o n a n d J a c k s o n 1 98 4)

p r e s c r i b e p r o p o r t i o n i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n t h e

p a r t s o f t h e w h o l e o f v a r io u s d i v i n it ie s a n d p r o v i d e

s a m p l e s k e t c h e s r e n d e r i n g t h e d i v i n it ie s ; t h e v e r b a l

m o d e l s ( G o s w a m y a n d D a h m a n - D a l l a p i c o l a 1 97 6)

a r e t h e d e s c r i p ti v e i n v o c a t i o n s o f t h e d i f fe r e n t d e i -

t i e s i n t h e a r t i s t i c p a n t h e o n a n d , a s s u c h , p r o v i d e

t h e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e v i s ua l m o d e l s . T o g e t h e r ,

t h e d e s c r i p t i v e g u i d e l i n e s i n T i b e t a n v e r s e ( v e r b a l

m o d e l s ) a n d p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m s ( v is ua l m o d -

e ls ) h a v e s e r v e d a s t h e m e d i u m o f t r a n s m i s s i o n o f

t h e c r a f t o f T h a n g k a p a i n t i n g a c r o s s t i m e .

L i k e t h e v e r s e s i n c a n o n i c a l t r e a t i s e s , o r t h e p r o t o -

t y p i c a l s k e t c h e s a n d p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m s o f t h e

T h a n g k a m a s t e r s , t h e e l e c t r o n i c s k e t c h b o o k r e -

c o r d s t h e v e r b a l a n d v i s u a l m o d e l s , b u t d o e s s o

u s i n g c o m p u t i n g a n d v i d e o m e d i a . T h i s s e c t i o n r e -

v i e w s t h e d i f f e r e n t a u d i o - v i s u a l r e c o r d s t h a t m a k e

u p t h e s o u r c e m a t e r i a l f o r t h e e l e c t r o n i c s k e t c h

b o o k ' s d a t a b a s e : t h e i n s t r u c t i o n a l i n g r e d i e n t s o f

T h a n g k a p a i nt in g .

3 1 R e c o r d i n g v e r b a l m o d e l s

V e r b a l m o d e l s p r o v i d e t h e T h a n g k a p a i n t e r w i t h

a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e b a s i c i c o n o g r a p h y o f t h e d e i-

t i e s . V e r b a l mo d e l s a r e t h e d e s c r i p t i v e i n v o c a t i o n s ,

k n o w n i n S a n s k r i t a s hyanao f a d e i t y . T h e y a r e

v i v i d , g r a p h i c , p r e c i s e , d e t a i l e d , a n d e v o k e mo r e

f a n t a s y t h a n t h e p a i n t i n g s . F o r e x a m p l e , c o n s i d e r

t h e f o l l o w i n g D h y a n a , w h i c h i n s t r u c t s t h e p a i n t e r

o n t h e r e n d e r i n g o f t h e g o d d e s s S a r a s w a t i ( W a y -

man 1977) :

Surrounded by delectable herbs of a Mt. M eru grove, within

a white and p ure oc ean of milk, she [Saraswati] is seated on

a white lotus with large petals, she has a white body, one face,

two arm s, her fa ce calm, smiling, and lovely with charming

youth of sixteen years, breast firm and high, narrow waist, in

squatting posture; with her hand s holding an instrument of

man y strings of lapis lazuli ... .

F o r t h e d a ta b a s e , D h y a n a s w e r e r e c o r d e d i n c o n -

v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t h e m a s t e r in a q u e s t i o n a n d a n -

s w e r s ty l e. D h y a n a s p r o v i d e t h e b e g i n n i n g p a i n t e r

w i t h d e s c r i p t i o n s o f e x p r e s s io n s o n t h e v a r i o u s d i-

v i n it ie s ' fa c e s, m e t r i c s a n d n u a n c e s o f r a g e o r t r a n -

q u i l i t y i n t h e i r a p p e a r a n c e , t h e a t t i r e o f d e i ti e s , t h e

s e t t in g s i n w h i c h t h e y a r e t o b e d e p i c t e d , t h e i r r e s i -

d e n c e s , v e h i c l e s , t h r o n e s , w e a p o n s a n d o t h e r p o s -

sess ions .

3 2 R e c o r d i n g v i s u a l m o d e l s

T h e v i s u a l m o d e l s c o n s i s t o f b o t h p r o t o t y p i c a l

s k e tc h e s a n d p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m s o f th e v a r -

i o u s d e i t ie s . F i g u r e 5 i l l u s t ra t e s a c a t a l o g u e o f l a n d -

s c a p e e l e m e n t s . T h a n g k a m a s t e r s u s e t h e s e m o d e l s

33


8/16

a s a i d s t o i n s t r u c t i o n s o t h a t t h e i r p u p i l s , i n f a i t h -

f u l l y r e d r a w i n g a n d r e n d e r i n g t h e d i a g r a m s a n d

s k e t c h e s , a c q u i r e p r o p o r t i o n i n g , c o m p o s i t i o n a l ,

a n d c o l o r i n g s k il ls .

T h e p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m s o f t h e T h a n g k a m a s -

t e r s a r e s e t f o r t h o n i c o n o m e t r i c t h e o r y w h i c h , a c -

c o r d i n g to G e r a s i m o v a (1 97 8) is t h e g r a m m a r o f

d r a w i n g , t h e s c ie n c e o f m a t h e m a t i c a l p r o p o r t i o n s

w h i c h i m p a r t s h a r m o n y to a n i m a g e . T h e T h a n g -

k a i c o n o m e t r y is b a s e d o n t h e s t u d y o f th e p r o p o r -

t io n s o f th e h u m a n b o d y . H e n c e , t h e m e a s u r e s o f

m a n - f a c e , p a l m s a n d f i n g e r s - w e r e i ts u n i t s o f

m e a s u r e m e n t . C o m p o s i ti o n a l ly , m e m b e r s o f t h e T i -

b e t a n p a n t h e o n a r e d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e b a s i c c la s se s :

p e a c e f u l d i v in i t ie s , w r a t h f u l d i v i n it i e s , a n d o r d i n a r y

h u m a n b e in g s. T h e T h a n g k a i c o n o m e t r y re l at e s

t h e a p p r o p r i a t e p r o p o r t i o n i n g o f t h e f ig u r e s i n a c -

c o r d a n c e w i t h t h i s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . Fo r t h e e l e c t r o n i c

s k e t c h b o o k , p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m s f o r i m p o r -

t a n t d e i t i e s w e r e r e c o r d e d a s v i d e o s t i l l f r a me s t o

Fig . 5. Ca ta logue o f l andscap e e lements d raw n by Rob er t Beer

C o p y r i g h t 1 9 88 S n o w L i o n P u b li c a t io n s I t h a c a

34

s e r v e a s r e f e r e n c e m a t e r i a l . N e x t , c a t a l o g u e s o f v a r -

i o u s g e s t u r e s , o f f e r i n g s , l a n d s c a p e e l e me n t s , a n d

s a m p l e s k e t c h e s o f d e i ti e s w e r e r e c o r d e d ( F ig . 5 ).

T h e s a m p l e s k e t c h e s p r e s e r v e d r e n d e r i n g s e -

q u e n c e s , f o r e x a m p l e , g e n e r a t i n g a p r o p o r t i o n i n g

g r i d , o u t l i n i n g w i t h i n t h e p r o p o r t i o n i n g g r i d t h e

f o r m o f a n a k e d d e i ty , c l o th i n g t h e d e i t y w i t h r o b e s ,

s e a t i n g t h e d e i t y o n a t h r o n e , d r a w i n g t h e n i m b u s e s

o r h a l o a r o u n d t h e d e i ty , p la c i n g s y m b o l i c o ff e r in g s

b e f o r e t h e d e i t y . T h e p r e s e r v a t i o n o f p a i n ti n g s e-

q u e n c e i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e s t u d e n t p a i n t e r ,

b e c a u s e t h e s e q u e n c e is r e l a t e d t o m y t h o l o g i c a l b e -

li ef s, a n d t h e p r o c e s s o f d r a w i n g is c o n s i d e r e d a n

i n v i o l a b l e r i t u a l . Fo r e x a mp l e , t h e l a s t s t r o k e s i n

t h e d e p i c t i o n o f B u d d h a ' s h e a d a r e t h e o u t li n i n g

a n d r e n d e r i n g o f t h e e y e s. Ju s t a s t h e m a s t e r s d e -

s c r i b e , t h e f i n a l s t r o k e s o f o u t l i n i n g Bu d d h a ' s e y e s ,

i n d e e d , b r i n g s t h e d e i t y o f lif e.

O t h e r e l e c t r o n i c r e c o r d s o f v i s u al m o d e l s i n c l u d e

i ma g e s o f T i b e t a n c u l t u r a l l if e, l a n d s c a p e s , p e o p l e ,

s o u n d s , c e r e m o n i e s , e x a m p l e p a i n t i n g s o f T h a n g -

k a s i n m u s e u m s , a n d c u r a t o r i a l a n a l y s e s o f m u s e -

u m T h a n g k a s . S c e n e s o f c u l t u r a l i m a g e r y a n d T i b e -

t a n l a n d s c a p e a i d a s v i s u a l re f e r e n c e s i n t h e r e c o r d -

i ng s o f D h y a n a s . M u s e u m T h a n g k a s , a n d c u r a t o r i-

a l a n a l y s e s w e r e s e l e c t e d t o p r o v i d e e x a m p l e s o f

a r t is t ic e x p l o r a t i o n a n d i m p r o v i s a t i o n .

3 3 V ideo reco rd ing o f the

c o m p o s i t io n a l p r o c e s s

V i d e o r e c o rd s c a n b e p la y e d b a c k u n d e r c o m p u t e r

c o n t r o l . U n l i k e s t a t ic s k e t c h e s a n d d i a g r a m s i n tr a -

d i t i o n a l m e d i a , v i d e o r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n t r o d u c e

i n t o t h e c r a ft e n v i r o n m e n t a m e d i u m t h a t i s f u n d a -

m e n t a l l y a b o u t p r o c e s s . A l o n g w i t h s t a ti c d i a g r a m s

a n d s k e t c h e s , t h e s k e t c h b o o k c o l l e c t e d a c t i o n s e -

q u e n c e s i n w h i c h c r a f t s m e n c r e a t e T h a n g k a s . B e -

g i n n i n g p a i n t e r s o r s p e c t a t o r s c a n r e p l a y t h e s c e n e s

a n d e x p e r i e n c e th e m , a l m o s t a s i f t h e y w e r e a c t u a l -

l y p r e s e n t w i t h t h e m a s t e r , a n d t h u s l e a r n t h e c r a f t

b y r e - e n a c t i n g p r o c e s s.

T h e v i d e o r e c o r d s w e r e c r e a t e d t o c a p t u r e t h e p r e s -

e n c e o f t h e m a s t e r . I n s c e n es c o n t a i n i n g t h e r e c i t a -

t i o n s o f v e r b a l m o d e l s a n d d i s c u ss i o n s a b o u t t h e o l -

o g y , t h e r e c o r d s c a p t u r e t h e m a s t e r ' s p r e s e n t a t i o n

s t y l e , c o u n t e n a n c e , a n d d e m e a n o r . T h e m e d i u m

p r o v i d e s t h e a b i l i t y t o c o n n e c t p r o c e s s - r e l a t e d r e -

c o r d s s u c h a s p r o p o r t i o n i n g d e t a i l s a n d i c o n o -

g r a p h i c d e s c r i p t i o n s t o t h e m a s t e r ' s p e s o n a l i t y . A s

a m e t a - m e d i u m , v i d e o a l lo w s u s to i n t e r - m i x a n d


9/16

u n i f o r m l y p r e s e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o r i g i n a ll y in d i -

v e r s e m e d i a . C o m b i n e d i n t h is w a y , v i s u al m o d e l s ,

v e r b a l mo d e l s , s t il l i ma g e s o f c a t a l o g u e s , s k e t c h e s ,

a n d c u r a t o r i a l a n a l y s e s p r o v i d e b e g i n n i n g T h a n g -

k a p u p i l s w i t h a ri c h c o m p o s i t i o n a l s c h e m a .

3 4 C o m p u t a t i o n a l m o d e l o f t he

v i d e o s c e n e s

T h e r e c o r d i n g s o f t h e m a s t e r w e r e e d i t e d i n t o d is -

c r e t e v i d e o s e g m e n t s . E a c h v i d e o s e g m e n t c o r r e -

s p o n d s t o a c o m p u t a t i o n a l r e c o r d i n a r e l a t i o n a l

d a t a b a s e . F i e l d s in t h e r e c o r d c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e s e g-

m e n t ' s c o n t e n t , i ts v i s ua l f o r m a t , a n d t h e b e g i n n i n g

a n d e n d i n g v i d e o f r a m e n u m b e r s . T h e c o n t e n t o f

t h e v i d e o s e g m e n t in c l u d e s a p a in t i n g ' s n a m e a n d

h i s t o r i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n , s u c h a s d a t e , s t y l is t ic p e r i o d ,

t h e d e i t y d e p i c t e d o n t h e T h a n g k a , e t c . I n t h e c a s e

o f v e r b a l m o d e l s , k e y w o r d s i d e n t i f y d e it i e s, d e i t ie s '

c o m p o s i t i o n a l d e t ai ls , t h e e m b o d i m e n t s o f t h e o l o g -

i c al c o n c e p t s , e tc . I n c l u d e d w i t h e a c h r e c o r d e d s e g-

m e n t i s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e v i s u a l f o r m a t o f t h e

s e g m e n t , w h e t h e r t h e c a m e r a - s h o t i s a c l o s e - u p o f

a p a i n t i n g , a w i d e - s h o t , d e t a i l o f a d e i t y ' s p a r t , o r

a c l o s e u p o f t h e ma s t e r , e t c.

T h e d a t a b a s e r e c o r d s f o r t h e s e g m e n t s w e r e c r e a t e d

b y t r a n s c r i b i n g t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n s t o t e x t , a n d t h e n

b y d e f i n i n g o r e x t r a c t i n g k e y w o r d s f r o m t h e t r a n -

s c r i p t . Pa r s i n g t h e v i d e o r e c o r d i n t o d i s c r e t e s e g -

m e n t s w o r k s w e l l f o r c a t a l o g u i n g t h e s t i l l i m a g e s

o f p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m s , T h a n g k a c o m p o s i t i o n -

a l e l e m e n t s , m u s e u m p a i n t i n g s , a n d o t h e r r e f e r e n c e

m a t e r i a l . H o w e v e r , t h i s t a c t ic f l o u n d e r s i n o r g a n i z -

i n g t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t h e m a s t e r p a i n t e r . I n

t h e c o u r s e o f c o n v e r s a t i o n s , h e m a d e d i v e r s e a s s o-

c i at io n s, r a n g i n g f r o m a s p ec t s o f T h a n g k a c o m p o -

s i t i o n t o d i s c u s s i o n s o n t h e o l o g y . A l s o , i n t h e p r o -

c e s s o f d i s c u s s i n g a p a r t i c u l a r d e i t y , h e a l l u d e d t o

o t h e r d e i t i e s o r d i g r e s s e d i n t o o t h e r t o p i c s . T h u s ,

i n s t e a d o f v i e w i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n s a s a s e r i es o f s e g -

m e n t s , w e v i e w t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n s a s a c o n t i n u o u s

p e r f o r m a n c e w h o s e c o n t e n t c a n b e e x a m i n e d b y

a s y s t e m o f o v e r l a p p i n g e n t r y a n d e x i t p o i n ts .

F o r t h e p r o t o t y p e s k e t c h b o o k , w e h a v e d e f e r r e d

i ss u e s a ri s in g f r o m t h e u s e o f th e d a t a b a s e b y m u l t i-

p l e a u d i e n c e s . F o r e x a m p l e , i n t h e s e c t i o n o f v i d e o

t h a t s h o w s d r a w i n g a n e y e , o n e i n d e x m i g h t p o i n t

t o t h e m a s t e r ju s t m a r k i n g o n t h e p a p e r ( f o r t h e

a r t s t u d e n t ) , a n o t h e r m i g h t s h o w a l o n g e r v e r s i o n

t h a t b e g i n s w i t h t h e m a s t e r p i c k i n g u p t h e p e n c i l

( f o r t h e a u d i e n c e i n a n a r t g a l l e r y ) , a n d a n o t h e r

m i g h t b e g i n w i t h t h e m a s t e r t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e s i g -

n i f ic a n c e o f e y e s a n d e n d w i t h h i m j u s t s t a r t in g

t o d r a w ( f o r t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e d e t a i l s o f T i b e -

t a n B u d d h i s m ) . I n t h i s i m p o r t a n t w a y , p a r s i n g o f

t h e v i d e o r e c o r d s s h o u l d be s o f t . L o o k i n g in o n

a n y o n e p o i n t o f v ie w lo s e s to o m u c h o f t h e i n t e r e s t

v a l u e f o r a n o t h e r p e r s p e c ti v e .

4 D i a g r a m m a t i c u s e r i n te r fa c e

T h e p r e v i o u s s e c t io n d e s c r i b e d t h e d i v e r se p r o c e s s

r e c o r d s th a t m a k e u p t h e d a t a b a se o f T h a n g k a i m -

a g e r y . T h is s e c t io n w i ll d i sc u s s t h e c o m p u t a t i o n a l

t o o l s t h a t a l l o w a b e g i n n i n g p a i n t e r t o a c c e s s t h e

r e c o r d s a n d n a v i g a t e t h e d a t a b a s e .

T i b e t a n p a i n t i n g c a n b e a p p r e c i a t e d o n o n e l e v e l

f o r i t s f o r m a l o n e , b u t m o r e d e e p l y b a s e d o n i t s

c o n t e n t . A t a p u r e l y c o m p o s i t i o n a l l e v e l T h a n g k a

p a i n t i n g i s a c c e s s i b l e t o a l l , p l e a s i n g t h e v i e w e r ' s

e y e w i t h i t s v i v i d n e s s a n d d e c o r a t i v e c h a r m .

D e e p e r a p p r e c i a t i o n i s u s u a l l y r e s e r v e d fo r t h e s t u -

d e n t o f B u d d h i s m , w h o h a s t h e a b i li t y t o t r a n s l a t e

t h e s y m b o l s i n t o t h e r e l i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e s w h o s e

s p i r i t u a l f i r e t h e p a i n t i n g s s e e k t o e x p r e s s . T h e a p -

p r o a c h f r o m b o t h c o m p o s i t i o n a n d r e l i g i o u s e x p e -

r i e n c e i n f o r m s t h e s t u d e n t , o n t h e o n e h a n d , o f

t h e T i b e t a n ' s p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h o r n a m e n t a t i o n ,

a n d o n t h e o t h e r , o f t h e i n n e r s p i r i t u a l l if e o f th e

T i b e t a n p e o p l e . T h e i n i t i a l a p p r o a c h t o T h a n g k a s

m a y b e m a d e f r o m e i t h e r p e r sp e c t iv e . S t a r t in g f r o m

c o m p o s i t i o n , t h e s t u d e n t m i g h t d i s c o v e r t h e e x -

p r e s s i o n o f th e d o c t r i n a l p r i n c i p l e i n s y m b o l s .

S t a r t i n g f r o m t h e o l o g y , t h e s t u d e n t m i g h t d i s c o v e r

t h e v i s u a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f it s r e l i g io u s i d e a l s.

T h u s , t h e d i f f e r e n t v i d e o r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s , w h e t h e r

o f c o m p o s i t i o n o r o f t h e o l o g y , il l u st r a te d i f fe r e n t

v i ew s o f t h e s a m e T h a n g k a p r o c e ss . T r a d i t i o n a l ly ,

t h e r e c o r d s e x i s t i n d i f f e r e n t me d i a , o f f e r i n g t o t h e

p a i n t e r d i f fe r e n t p e r s p e c ti v e s o f t h e s a m e c o m p o s i -

t i o n a l p r o c e s s , a n d d i f f e r e n t e x p e r i e n c e s o f t h e p r o -

c e ss . T h e e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e s e m e d i a o c c u r i n v a r -

i o u s s e t t i n g s , s u c h a s c i r c a m b u l a t i n g a r o u n d t e m -

p l e w a l l s f r e s c o e d w i t h mu r a l s , o r r e c i t i n g v e r b a l

m o d e l s , o r p a i n t i n g w h i l e c h a n t i n g v e r b a l i n c a n t a -

t io n s . T h e s e d i f f e r e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f T h a n g k a

p r o c e s s a r e l i k e t r a n s p a r e n t o v e r l a y s , e l u c i d a t i n g

t h e i n t e r - r e l a t e d n e s s o f e x p r e s s io n s i n d i v e r s e m e -

d i a. T h a n g k a p a i n t e r s c a r r y w i t h t h e m t h e i m p l i c it

k n o w l e d g e o f t h e r e la t i o n s h i p s a m o n g t h e r e p r e -

s e n t a t i o n s i n t h e d i f f e r e n t me d i a .

3 5


10/16

The p urpose in the s t ruc tu r ing o f the r ep resen ta -

t ions is to make expl ici t the relat ionships between

the over lays, i l lust rat ing the inter - relatedness of the

repre senta tions . In a basic sense, this involves f il ter-

ing o f r i ch in t e r - connec t ions be tween p ropor t ion-

ing gr ids for any dei ty in the panth eon , re-playable

composi t iona l ske tches , ca t a logues fo r r ender ing

garment s and l andscapes , p r ev ious ly execu ted

Thangkas , d i scuss ions on m ytho logy , ve rba l mod-

els of iconograp hy, e tc .

4 1 C la ss i f i c a t ion o f de i t ies

The basic un i t of organizat ion is the dei ty . Fol low-

ing t radi t ional c lassi f icat ion of the ar t i s t ic pan-

theon, the dei ty serves as the basis for assembl ing

diverse representat ions. Since the classi f icat ion

schemes for the dei t ies in the Tibetan ar t i s t ic pan-

theon a r e s t r a igh t fo rward and comple te , r ep resen-

tat ions for them can be easi ly expressed in the

S m a l l t a l k p r o g r a m m i n g e n v i r o n m e n t ( G o l d b e r g

and Ro bso n 1983). The Smal l t a lk c lass h i e ra r chy

enables easy d ef ini t ion of c lassi fied objects accord-

ing to sh ared a nd di f fer ing proper t ies .

The icono metr ic c lassi f ication of dei t ies in to peace-

ful dei t ies , wrathful dei te is and ordinary human

beings comprises the uppermost layer of c lasses,

each wi th i t s own sub-hierarchy. For example,

under the peaceful dei t ies are the di f ferent types

of Buddhas , and Boddh i sa t tvas . Smal l t a lk p rov ides

a f ramework in which dei t ies can be represented

in term s o f thei r d i f ferences f rom other dei ties . The

classi f icat ion al lows for the inher i tance of a l l the

video repres entat ions related to a dei ty s c lass . At

the upper layers of the hierarchy, the associated

video segment give overviews; a t the lower layers

they convey focused t reatm ents of speci fic topics.

dei ty s emblam at ic character is t ics - medi ta t ive pos-

tures, hand gestures, objects that the hands clasp,

lotus thrones, c lothing, landscape elements, and

surrounding characters . Dei t ies are ident i f ied by

postures, hand gestures, thrones or mounts, d i f fer -

ences in o rnamen t s and garment s , and the var ious

symbols tha t t hey ho ld .

4 2 1 Laying o ut and presen t ing

v ideo records

The Layout ditor uses the visual prese ntat ion lan-

guage as a f rame for organizing and present ing

video records. I t consists of a display w indo w con-

taining a l ine drawing im age of a dei ty . The dei ty s

image provides a graphic basis for organizing and

lay ing ou t the v ideo r epresen ta t ions r e la t ed to tha t

de ity . The ed i to r decomp oses the de i ty s image by

regions, such as the region of the face, halo , n imbu s

clothing, jewelry , of ferings, han d gestures, thrones,

and landscape elements. I t ar ranges and dist r ibutes

related video representat ion s across the graphic re-

gions of the dei ty s image. Figure 6 il lust rates so me

of the different regions o f a deity.

4 2 Com pu t a t i on a l access t o

v ideo segmen t s o f de i t i es

In a r t h i s to ri ca l ana lyses o f Thang ka pa in t ings and

in t r ad i t iona l educa t iona l se t tings o f Tha ngk a

pa in t ing , cu ra to r s and t eachers em ploy sequen t i a l

methods to desc r ibe and ana lyse the v i sua l l an -

guage. The methods ident i fy a dei ty , and reveal

i t s emblem at ic characteris t ics. The mas ter typical ly

leads the s tudent s eye across the pa int ing, f rom

one point to the other , progressively reveal ing the

36

Fig. 6. Layou t E ditor il lustrating mouse sensitive regions of the

Bud dha Shak yam uni s face, clothing, lef t gesture, an d lo tus

throne


11/16

T h e r e g i o n s o f th e d e i t y ' s i m a g e a r e m o u s e - s e n s i -

t i v e f o r a p a i n t e r ' s i n t e r a c t i v e q u e r y . F o r e x a m p l e

t h e s t u d e n t p a i n t e r , b y c l i c k i n g a t t h e r e g i o n o f

t h e h a n d s o f a d e i ty , o b t a i n s a m e n u o f th e t i tl es

o f v id e o r e c o r d s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h a t r e g i o n . V i d e o

s e g m e n t s fo r t h e r e g i o n o f a d e i ty ' s h a n d i n c l u d e ,

d e p i c t i o n o f t h a t h a n d g e s tu r e , s im i l a r h a n d g e s-

t u r e s o f o t h e r d e i t i e s, d r a w i n g e x e r c i s e s o f t h a t g e s -

t u r e , s y m b o l i s m o f t h e g e s t u r e , s t o r ie s , e tc . S i mi l a r -

l y , c l i c k i n g a t t h e r e g i o n o f t h e f a c e r e v e a l s t h e

t i tl e s o f t h e v i d e o r e c o r d s d e s c r i b i n g t h e d e i t y ' s

f a c e : t h e p r o p o r t i o n i n g d i a g r a m f o r t h e f a c e, v e r b a l

m o d e l s f o r t h e e y e s , s t o r ie s , e t c . V i r t u a l l y e v e r y li n e

o n t h e d e i t y ' s i ma g e i s a v a i l a b l e f o r q u e s t i o n i n g .

A s e l e c ti o n f r o m t h e m e n u o f t it le s in t h e L a y o u t

E d i t o r p l a y s b a c k t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g s c e n e . O r t h e

s e l e c t i o n m a y b e t e m p o r a r i l y s t o r e d i n a s c r i p t .

T h i s p e r mi t s t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f a s e r ie s o f v i d e o s e g -

m e n t s t h a t m i g h t, f o r e x a m p l e , s h o w r e l a t e d c o m -

p o s i t i o n a l s t e p s f o r a n u m b e r o f d e it ie s , o r s h o w

s e v e r a l d is c r e t e s t e p s i n a s i n g le c o mp o s i t i o n a l p r o -

c es s. S c r ip t s a r e m a d e b y s e l e c ti n g m e n u i t e m s f r o m

t h e L a y o u t E d i t o r , a n d c r e a t i n g a li s t o f t i tl e s in

s e q u e n t i a l o r d e r i n a s c r i p t . T h e s c r i p t c a n i n c l u d e

t h e c o o r d i n a t e d r e p l a y o f v id e o s e g m e n t s a c r o s s

m u l t i p l e p l a y e r s . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e s t u d e n t c a n

c o m b i n e t h e a u d i o s e g m e n t s o f v e r b a l m o d e l s w i t h

o t h e r v i s u al i m a g e s o f th a t d e i ty .

T h e L a y o u t E d i t o r t r a n s p a r e n t l y p r o v i d e s f o r t h e

a c c r e t i o n o f n e w i t e m s i n t o t h e d a t a b a s e . I t p e r i o d i -

c a l l y r e v i e w s t h e r e c o r d s i n t h e d a t a b a s e t o f i n d

n e w e n t r i e s . F o r a n y p a r t i c u l a r d e i t y , i t r e t r i e v e s

a l l t h e v i d e o s e g m e n t s t h a t a r e r e l e v a n t t o t h a t

d e i t y , d i s t r i b u t e s t h e s e g me n t s a c r o s s t h e d i f f e r e n t

r e g i o ns , a n d c o n s t r u c t s a p o p - u p m e n u o f t h e s c e n e

titles.

T h e m a s t e r a u t h o r s a n d c l u s te r s v i d e o r e c o r d s r e le -

v a n t t o t h e d e i t y o n t o t h e d e i t y 's i m a g e u s i n g v a r -

i o u s a u t h o r i n g t o o ls . T h e a u t h o r i n g t o o l s a l lo w t h e

m a s t e r t o : p r e p a r e l i n e d r a w i n g s f o r t h e v a r i o u s

d e i t i e s ; i n t e r a c t i v e l y s p e c i f y r e g i o n s o n t h e l i n e

d r a w i n g s ; c r e a t e t h e d i f f e r e n t l is ts c o n t a i n i n g t i t le s

o f v i d e o r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s f o r t h e d i f f e r e n t r e g i o n s ;

a s s i g n t h e s e l i st s t o v a r i o u s r e g i o n s .

4 3 Diagrammatic language

N o w t h a t w e h a v e a m e a n s o f as s e m b l in g v i d eo

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d r e l a t i n g d i v e r s e r e p r e s e n t a -

t i o ns o f v i d e o i n t e r m s o f a n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l u n i t,

i . e . , t h e d e i t y , l e t u s e x a mi n e h o w a s t u d e n t n a v i -

g a t e s t h e d a t a b a s e a n d h o w t h is p r o c e s s o f n a v i g a -

t i o n p r o v i d e s a g l i m p s e o f t h e c o n t e n t o f t h e d a t a -

base .

D e i t ie s a r e s p e c if i ed b y m e a n s o f a d i a g r a m m a t i c

l a n g u a g e : a c o U e c t io n o f d i a g r a m s t h a t r e p r e s e n t

v a r i o u s d e i t y s ' e s s e n t i a l g r a p h i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . A

d e i t y ' s d i a g r a m i s p i c t o r i a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ( F i g . 7 ) ,

w h i c h i n c lu d e s t h e d i m e n s i o n s o f b o d y p a r t s a n d

p r o p o r t i o n i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g p a r t s . B a s e d o n

t h e p o s i t i o n i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f b o d y p a r t s , a

d e i ty ' s y o g i c p o s t u r e m a y b e e x t r a c t e d f r o m t h e

d i a g r a m . H e n c e , a d i a g r a m i s a c o n c i s e r e p r e s e n t a -

t i o n t h a t s e r v e s a s a g r a p h i c i n d e x t o a n i m a g e

o f p a r t i c u l a r d e i ty . I t p r o v i d e s t h e m e a n s t o i n t e r a c t

a s w e l l a s i n d e x a n d r e t r i e v e e l e m e n t s f r o m t h e

d a t a b a s e .

4.3.1 Rep resentat ion of Dei t ies Diagra ms

D e i t ie s a r e m o d e l e d a f t e r r it u a l y o g i c p o s t u r e s . F i g -

u r e 7 i ll u s t r a t e s g r a p h i c a l i n d i c e s ( d i a g r a m s ) f o r

t w o d e it ie s . C o n s i d e r t h e p o s t u r e , D h y a n a -

a s a n a , w h i c h is a c o m m o n m e d i t a t iv e p os e f o r

a l l t h e Bu d d h a s . I n t h i s p o s e t h e d e i t y ' s l e g s a r e

l o o s e l y l o c k e d , a n d b o t h t h e h a n d s a r e r e s ti n g i n

t h e l a p , r i g h t h a n d o v e r t h e l e f t h a n d , w i t h a l l

f i n g e r s e x t e n d e d a n d p a l m s u p , i n t h e g e s t u r e o f

e q u i p o is e . O r c o n s i d e r t h e p o s e L a l i t - a s a n a i n

w h i c h o n e l e g i s p e n d a n t , u s a l l y s u p p o r t e d b y a

l o t u s f l o w e r , w h i l e t h e o t h e r i s i n a s q u a t t i n g p o s e .

V a r i o u s e n e r g y c e n t e r s o f a y o g i ' s sp i n a l c o l u m n

- e y e s , t h r o a t , h e a r t , n a v e l , e t c . - s e r v e a s p o i n t s

f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e c e n t e r o f a x is o f a d e i t y ' s

d i a g r a m . A d e i t y 's s p in a l c o l u m n m i g h t b e v e r t ic a l ,

a s in t h e c a s e o f B u d d h a , o r m a y l e a n t o t h e r i g h t

o r l e f t a s i n t h e c a s e o f G o d d e s s e s . A r m s m a y b e

r a i s e d , m a y s t r e t c h o u t w a r d , o r m a y r e l a x i n t h e

l a p, e t c . L e g s m a y b e i n l o c k e d , s t a n d i n g , o r d a n c -

i n g p o s i t i o n s , e t c . G e s t u r e s , t h e v a r y i n g p o s i t i o n s

o f t h e d e i t y 's h a n d s , a r e i d e n t i fi e d b y t h e d i r e c t i o n

t h e y p o i n t t o a n d a r e b a s e d o n t h e p o s i t io n o f

i ts c o n n e c t i n g a r m .

I n t h e e l e c t r o n i c s k e t c h b o o k , s u c h a d i a g r a m o f

a d e i t y 's p o s t u r e i s c o m p u t a t i o n a l l y r e p r e s e n t e d a s

a c o l l e c t i o n o f s p li n e s. T h e s e s p l in e s r e p r e s e n t v a r -

i o u s p a r t s o f a d e i ty ' s s k e l e t a l s t r u c t u r e , s u c h a s

t h e s p i n a l c o l u m n , t h e u p p e r a r m s , l o w e r a r m s ,

h a n d g e s t u r e s , l e gs , a n d f e e t . A s p l i n e is r e p r e s e n t e d

a s c o l l e c t i o n o f k n o t - p o i n t s w h i c h w i ll b e u s e f u l

i n r e - c o n s t r u c t i n g i t . T h e d i f f e r e n t s p l i n e s p r e s e r v e

c o n n e c t i v i t y o f t h e d e i t y 's s k e l e t a l s t ru c t u r e . F o r

37


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Fig 7 Diagrams for Milare pa and

Saraswati

Spinal Columll--Eyes to Threat

e f t U p p e r Arm /

ef t ower Arm /

Left Gesture 1 )

N i g h t U p p e r Arm

Right ower A~m

pp~

Fig 8 Directional representation of a

deity

example , han d ges tu res ro ta t e ab ou t the lower a rm,

the lower a rm ro ta t es abou t the e lbow, and the

upper a rm ro ta t es abou t the shou lder . Re la t ed

work on notat ional sys tems for dance, s t ick f igure

representat ions , and cr i ter ia for the select ion of

representat ions are avai lable in the references

(Mar r and Nish ihara 1978 ; Hutch ing ton 1984 ;

Lansdown 1977; Ze l t ze r 1982 ; Lark in and S imon

1987).

A dei ty s di agra m (a col lect ion of splines) , wh en

parsed b y di rect ion, provides a table of angles that

the di f ferent body par ts make wi th respect to some

38

f ixed or igin and, in turn, a table of angles that

the di f ferent body par ts make wi th each other .

These angles determine, for example, whether a

dei ty s lower arm is poin t ing tow ards the hear t ,

po in t ing towards the l ap , o r po in t ing towards the

knees , e tc . Var ious angles of the upper and lower

legs ident i fy whether the dei ty is squat t ing in s t i l l

repose, or in d ynam ic poses , etc . Together , the di f-

ferent angles of a l l the bo dy par ts , a nd the relat ion-

ships of par ts b etween ea ch o ther , uniquely ident i fy

a deity s yogic post ure (Fig. 8). In the ske tch bo ok ,

var ious pos tu re d iagrams were def ined , and f rom


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t hese d iagrams angu la r r anges and d i r ec t iona l to -

pologies were extracted. This a l lowed the const ruc -

t ion of a table o f deit ies , and thei r ident i fying pos-

ture diagrams. Character ised this way, the dia-

g rams can be used fo r r ecogn i t ion o r pa t t e rn

match ing .

4 4 Interact ion by creat ing d iagrams

of dei t ies

A de i ty ' s d i ag ram can be t r ansfo rmed in to ano ther

th roug h a sequence o f man ipu la t ions . The iagram

Editor cons is t s o f a windo w up on w hich the Thang-

ka pa in te r may ske tch o r man ipu la t e a pos tu re

dia gra m (Fig. 9).

A Thangka pa in te r man ipu la t es the d iagram by

ro ta t ing the par t s to change the p os i t ions o f the

d ie ty ' s pa r t s o r by chang ing the d imens ions o f the

par ts . C hanges to the pos i t ions o f pa r t s a r e con-

st rained by the acceptable ranges of re lat ive rota-

t ion (be tween tha t body par t , ~nd the body par t

about which i t can rotate) . A painter might begin

with the lotus posi t ion ( Dhyana-asana ) , subse-

quent ly select the dei ty 's lef t arm and gesture , re-

pos i t ion the r igh t a rm to po in t towards the knee ,

and change the r igh t ges tu re f rom the ges tu re o f

equipoise (point ing to the r ight) to the gesture of

ea r th touch ing (po in t ing ver t i ca l ly down to touch

the lotus throne) . In doing so, the painter t rans-

fo rms the lo tus pos tu re in to the d iamond pos tu re

( Vajra-asana ) . Thus the painter i s gestur ing over

a p ro to type d iagram, p rogressive ly vary ing the po-

sit ions o f a deity's parts (Fig. 9).

The modi f i ed pos tu re d iagram i s matched aga ins t

the d ic t ionary o f p re -def ined d iagrams by com par -

ing i t body par t s wi th those o f the d iagrams in

the dic t ionary (Fig. 10). The closest matc h ident i f ies

the de i ty , and a Layou t Ed i to r p rov id ing access

to the video records for that dei ty i s invoked. The

cycl ic p rocess o f man ipu la t ing d iagrams, match ing

against dei t ies , re t r ieving and viewing video seg-

ment s , and manipu la t ing d iagrams, once aga in , i s

how the Thangka s tuden t nav iga tes and b rowses

t h r o u g h t h e T h a n g k a d a ta b a s e.

In te r ac t ing th rough d iagrams has pedagog ica l

va lue as a way o f d i scover ing the comp osi t iona l

essence o f de i t i e s (Coomaraswamy 1977 ; Yanag i

1972) . The d iagrammat ic l anguage p rov ides the

stud ent wi th a taste of the compo si t ion al f lavor,

as wel l as gl impses of the co ntent . I t a ids in the

unde r s t and in g o f the v i sua l l anguage o f the vary ing

hand ges tu res and pos tu res . The s tuden t ' s d i ag ram-

mat i c s t rokes a l so can be r ecorded over t ime , and

this histor ical sketch reveals the process of discov-

er ing the de i tys ' character is t ic postures.

Fig 9 Diagram Editors showing the student

gesturally manipulating diagrams of deities

39


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Produce and dit

V ~deo Segmer~ts

Transcription Editor

Trcnscr~2be V~dco Segments

Create ~ n d M o d i f y Records

Authoring Editor

Organize and Cluster

Recordz fo r Layout Editor

Fig 10

Deity identification

Cor~pute or

Dgggtgze Dgggrct.ms

atabase of

iagrams

Diagram Editol

.,,,.' J _ o.[,..

.o,,,o

Fig 11 Sketch book in authoring and instructional use

24


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9 ' ~ ~ f ~

4 5 Im p l e m e n t a t io n

Figure 11 illustrates the various activities involved

in the construction of the sketch book. Basically

the activities are in two modes: authoring of the

database; and the instruc tional use of the database.

The various authoring activities of the Thangka

master are: recording and editing video segments,

transcribing conversations a nd defining key words

from the transcripts, constructing a computational

model of the video records, clustering and connect-

ing records for use by the Layout Editor, and con-

structing a dictionary of deity diagrams. In the in-

structional mode, the student painter manipulates

the diagrams by gesturing in order to navigate the

database. The resulting diagram is recognized by

pattern matching with a dictionary of diagrams.

A Layout Editor containing video records of dei-

ties for the identified deity is created, from which,

the student selects and reviews video segments, or

scripts video segments for replay.

Con c l u s i o n

We outlined our motivations for constructing the

electronic sketch book. As scholars of design meth-

odology, we wish to display our appreciation for

the ingenuity and exquisite skills involved in the

creation of Thangka painting; we wish to learn

from the design of expressive craft media as we

collaborate across design cultures. As researchers

studying the use of electronic technologies, we

would like to increase the awareness of the greate r

research commu nity about preserving and disemin-

ating the sense of process and craft and hence un-

derstand the potentials of elelctronic technology

as supportive to deteriorat ing traditions.

We illustrated a prototype craft medium for docu-

menting and disseminating Tibetan Thangka

painting. The elements of the sketch book s data-

base illustrate diverse views of the Thangka com-

positional process. The sketch book s user interface

provides intimate connection to the database, de-

riving its character from Thangka iconography and

visual language and expressing continuity from

representations in traditional media to electronic

media.

The rewards from engaging in this project are re-

flected in the words of Lewis Mumford (1934):

What we need, then, is the realization, that the creative life,

in all its manifestations, is necessarily a social product. I t grows

with the aid of tradition and techniques maintained and trans-

mitted by society... [even though] the addition to this heritage

made by any individual or even by any generation is small

in comparison with the accumulated resources of the past.

Indeed, our contribution will be small in compari-

son with the accumulated resources of the past.

Nevertheless, we are inspired by the imagination

and skill of Thangka craftsmen and hope that the

practice of their craft will continue, as we move

from the old tools to new.

Acknowledgements. This paper is extracted from: (1) Makkuni,

R. The Electronic S ketch Boo k of T~betan Thangka Painting

A P roject to Preserve and Disseminate Design Craft: Projec t

Descript ion and Motivations

Xerox PARC report, 1987; and

(2) Makkuni, R.,

A Diagrammatic Interface to a Database of

Thangka Imagery

to appear in the Proceedings of the IFIP

Conference on Visual Databases, Tokyo, 1989. The au thor

wishes to thank Robert Stults and David Robson of Xerox

PARC, and Terese Bartholomew and Rand Castile of the Asian

Art Museum of San Francisco for supporting the project. Senge

Lama provided the instructional materials for the Thangka da-

tabase. In conceptualizing and developing the technology, the

project benefited from discussions with Enrique Godreau, Steve

Harrison, Axel Kramer, David Liebs, Randy Smith, Bob Stults,

and Frank Zdybel. Karon Weber contributed her video produc-

tion expertise. Figure 1 was provided by the Cleveland Museum

of Art. The diagrams in Figs. 2 (drawn by Wandrak) and 5

(drawn by Robert Beer), are reproduced from Jackson, D., Jack-

son, J.,

7~beta n Thangka Painting: Me thods and Mate rials

(Copyright 1988, Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca). The rest of

the Thangka illustrations in the paper were drawn by Senge

Lama and his teacher, Gega Lama; they are provided courtesy

of the Karma Sona ta Gyamtso Ling, Belgium.

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RANJIT MAKKUNI is a

member of the research staff at

the System Sciences Laborato-

ry, Xerox Palo Alto Research

Center, where he is studying the

use of electronic technologies

towards preserving and dissem-

inating design craft. Ranjit is a

member of the American Com-

mittee for South Asian Art,

Sangeet Natak Academy of In-

dia, and the art advisory board

of 7he Visual Computer Ranjit

received a B.A. from the Indian

Institute of Technology, Khar-

agpur, and an M.A. in design

theory and methods from the Unive rsity of California, Los An-

geles.

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