Conference Presentations by Pauline Koniuch
Contemporary art in Tibetan communities was a particularly small artistic movement, that started ... more Contemporary art in Tibetan communities was a particularly small artistic movement, that started in the 1980s, however in recent years it began to thrive, especially among the youngest generation. With the rise of social media, young Tibetans found a platform for circulating their works, which function predominantly as a medium of communicating their thoughts and feelings, usually based on their everyday life in the diaspora or modern Lhasa. The preeminent topics include the loss of Tibetan identity due to life in exile or Sinicized Tibet, and political statements about self-immolations or imprisonment and killings of Tibetans, but also a representation of day-to-day life. Oftentimes we find works that deal with the juxtaposition of Tibetan elements in western or Chinese environments, in which the artists reside. Adolescent monks playing football, Tibetans in traditional garments taking selfies or playing an electric guitar form small vignettes of everyday life of contemporary Tibetans. In this paper I’d like to present a selection of artworks that showcase how young Tibetans perceive their identity in their globalized communities.
We can’t define a homogeneous group of contemporary Tibetan artists working outside of the Tibeta... more We can’t define a homogeneous group of contemporary Tibetan artists working outside of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. They come from different backgrounds – some of them are refugees from Tibet or the largest diasporic centers in Asia, while others were born in Europe or in the United States, often from families of mixed nationalities and ethnicities. Their place of upbringing and education influences the methods and artistic media they use, as well as the topics they choose.
However, there is one factor that almost all of them have in common – it is the use of elements of Tibetan Buddhism in their work. In this paper, I will reflect on the causes and effects of this phenomenon, as well as the ways of incorporating certain religious motives in art, on the example of designated works of two selected artists – Gonkar Gyatso and Palden Weinreb. The first, coming from Tibet and having encountered traditional methods or art-making first-hand, uses this knowledge by juxtaposing Buddhist effigies with elements of pop culture. The other artist, born and
raised in New York, never received a customary education, so his understanding of Buddhism is different, which leads to a distinct method of creating images, not necessarily influenced directly by depictions of religious figures. The main methods used in the analysis of the oeuvre are an iconographic analysis based on visual copies, as well as a biographical approach as the context of creation of selected works.
Papers by Pauline Koniuch
From canvas to cyberspace: contemporary Tibetan art and the digital Tibetan identity landscape
Visual Studies, 2025
The (de)construction of Tibetan identity has been argued over as a crucial notion in the study of... more The (de)construction of Tibetan identity has been argued over as a crucial notion in the study of contemporary Tibet. How this ‘Tibetan-ness’ becomes engaged in the ebb and flow in the context of globalisation has become one of the most essential subject matters for Tibetan contemporary artists. Younger artists born in the 1980s and 1990s offer a diverse and original perspective of how Tibetan art (and, by extension, Tibet itself) can be represented today – their hometown, whether understood as a geographical entity or spiritual anchor, is never just a concept, but must also be seen as a homeland to which all of its inhabitants are deeply attached. This article examines this new art scene in Tibet, where the young generations are reflecting on their role as artists, confronting the tension between traditional culture and secular society, between a historically collective point of view, and a highly individualistic representative form.
Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia, 2024
Dharamsala is probably the most known settlement of Tibetans in exile. It is based in India and i... more Dharamsala is probably the most known settlement of Tibetans in exile. It is based in India and is a popular tourist destination, so it is subject to various foreign influences. This paper aims to provide an ethnographic account of selected cases encountered during field studies and their reception among young Tibetans. Some new examples of multiculturalism, global and contemporary Indian influence and commodification of the Tibetan community and their culture will be provided, as well as accounts of interviewees on those phenomena.
Buddhist Influences in the Oeuvre of Contemporary Tibetan Artists in Exile on the Example of Selected Works by Gonkar Gyatso and Palden Weinreb
Prace Orientalistyczne Vol. LXV: Oriental Studies: Global and Local Perspectives, 2022
We cannot define a homogeneous group of contemporary Tibetan artists
working outside of the Tibet... more We cannot define a homogeneous group of contemporary Tibetan artists
working outside of the Tibetan Plateau. They come from different backgrounds – some of them are refugees from Tibet or the largest diasporic centres in Asia, while others were born in Europe or in the United States, often from families of mixed nationalities and ethnicities. Their place of upbringing and education influences the methods and artistic media they use, as well as the topics they choose. However, there is one factor that almost all of them have in common – it is the use of elements of Tibetan Buddhism in their work. In this paper, I will reflect on the causes and effects of this phenomenon, as well as the ways of incorporating certain religious motifs in art, on the example of designated works of two selected artists – Gonkar Gyatso and Palden Weinreb. The first, coming from Tibet and having encountered traditional methods or art-making first-hand uses this knowledge by juxtaposing Buddhist effigies with elements of pop culture. The other artist, born and raised in New York, never received a customary education, so his understanding of Buddhism is different, which leads to a distinct method of creating images, not necessarily influenced directly by depictions of religious figures. The main
methods used in the analysis of the oeuvre are an iconographic analysis based on visual copies, as well as a biographical approach as the context of the creation of selected works.
Przegląd Orientalistyczny, 2020
The following study aims to describe the transformation of contemporary
Tibetan art in Lhasa in c... more The following study aims to describe the transformation of contemporary
Tibetan art in Lhasa in correlation with the ever-changing understanding of national identity. This phenomenon can be divided into two phases. During the first phase, lasting for around twenty years since the 1980s, the artists were mostly concerned with the restoration and re-discovery of traditional Tibetan culture. In the second stage, lasting until now, the focus shifted towards the critique of the modern world and the influence that the Cultural Revolution had on the lives of Tibetan people. This subject is presented through the art of Gade. Selected works have been described in detail and analyzed, illustrating the various issues brought up in the article.
Przegląd Orientalistyczny, 2020
ABSTRACT: The aim of the article is to introduce the iconography of selected images ... more ABSTRACT: The aim of the article is to introduce the iconography of selected images of the dakini Dorje Phagmo, hitherto unpublished in any Polish research on Tibet. The descriptions are based on literary as well as iconographic sources, and are additionally illustrated for the benefit of the reader. This paper focuses on the figure of Dorje Phagmo in the art of Tibetan Buddhism and, to provide a wider context for this topic, also deals with such issues as the role of women in Tibet, feminine images in Tibetan art or types of literary sources used for the study of iconography.
KEYWORDS: Dorje Phagmo, Vajravarahi, Tibetan Buddhism, art, iconography
Books by Pauline Koniuch
Tibet and the Himalayas: Past and Present I, 2025
(from the Introduction) The present work, titled Tibet and the Himalayas: Past and Present I is a... more (from the Introduction) The present work, titled Tibet and the Himalayas: Past and Present I is a result of the collective efforts of the whole Tibetological group in a volume edited by Magdalena Szpindler, Paulina Koniuch and Stanisław Jan Kania. The core of the work was formed during the international conference that was organized on October 21–22, 2024 at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, currently the Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, of the University of Warsaw.
In the present volume we included research results of Tibetologists presenting them from the most general to those most specialized. With the variety of research topics introduced briefly in the volume, the first of the series of studies and publications that we plan at the University of Warsaw, the authors and editors humbly hope that their contributions will bring interest and better understanding of the rich cultures of Tibet and the Himalayas.
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Conference Presentations by Pauline Koniuch
However, there is one factor that almost all of them have in common – it is the use of elements of Tibetan Buddhism in their work. In this paper, I will reflect on the causes and effects of this phenomenon, as well as the ways of incorporating certain religious motives in art, on the example of designated works of two selected artists – Gonkar Gyatso and Palden Weinreb. The first, coming from Tibet and having encountered traditional methods or art-making first-hand, uses this knowledge by juxtaposing Buddhist effigies with elements of pop culture. The other artist, born and
raised in New York, never received a customary education, so his understanding of Buddhism is different, which leads to a distinct method of creating images, not necessarily influenced directly by depictions of religious figures. The main methods used in the analysis of the oeuvre are an iconographic analysis based on visual copies, as well as a biographical approach as the context of creation of selected works.
Papers by Pauline Koniuch
working outside of the Tibetan Plateau. They come from different backgrounds – some of them are refugees from Tibet or the largest diasporic centres in Asia, while others were born in Europe or in the United States, often from families of mixed nationalities and ethnicities. Their place of upbringing and education influences the methods and artistic media they use, as well as the topics they choose. However, there is one factor that almost all of them have in common – it is the use of elements of Tibetan Buddhism in their work. In this paper, I will reflect on the causes and effects of this phenomenon, as well as the ways of incorporating certain religious motifs in art, on the example of designated works of two selected artists – Gonkar Gyatso and Palden Weinreb. The first, coming from Tibet and having encountered traditional methods or art-making first-hand uses this knowledge by juxtaposing Buddhist effigies with elements of pop culture. The other artist, born and raised in New York, never received a customary education, so his understanding of Buddhism is different, which leads to a distinct method of creating images, not necessarily influenced directly by depictions of religious figures. The main
methods used in the analysis of the oeuvre are an iconographic analysis based on visual copies, as well as a biographical approach as the context of the creation of selected works.
Tibetan art in Lhasa in correlation with the ever-changing understanding of national identity. This phenomenon can be divided into two phases. During the first phase, lasting for around twenty years since the 1980s, the artists were mostly concerned with the restoration and re-discovery of traditional Tibetan culture. In the second stage, lasting until now, the focus shifted towards the critique of the modern world and the influence that the Cultural Revolution had on the lives of Tibetan people. This subject is presented through the art of Gade. Selected works have been described in detail and analyzed, illustrating the various issues brought up in the article.
KEYWORDS: Dorje Phagmo, Vajravarahi, Tibetan Buddhism, art, iconography
Books by Pauline Koniuch
In the present volume we included research results of Tibetologists presenting them from the most general to those most specialized. With the variety of research topics introduced briefly in the volume, the first of the series of studies and publications that we plan at the University of Warsaw, the authors and editors humbly hope that their contributions will bring interest and better understanding of the rich cultures of Tibet and the Himalayas.