- Paperback: 216 pages
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson (Mar 29 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0500284288
- ISBN-13: 978-0500284285
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 18.5 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,010,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
McArthur, curator of East Asian Art at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, has set for herself no small task: to create a concise, accessible primer to the intricate world of Buddhist art. She succeeds, although she eschews most chronological and geographical developments in Buddhist painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts in favor of a simplified, broad overview. After an excellent distillation of Buddhism's 2,500-year history, she focuses on the key figures in the bewilderingly complex Buddhist pantheon, succinctly discussing each one's identity, principal areas of worship, and specific attributes. Next, she identifies the symbolism and function of Buddhism's major ritual objects, symbols and signs, such as the meaning of the various mudras (hand gestures) of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Finally, she briefly discusses 14 major Buddhist sites in Asia, including the unfortunate destruction of the two colossal standing Buddhas in Afghanistan at the hands of the Taliban in 2001. She observes the statues' impressive international appeal, even in antiquity: "In the seventh century [CE], the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang" took note of the two large Buddhas "with their golden hues and dazzling ornamentation." The book itself is generously embellished with 304 black-and-white illustrations, including dozens of original line drawings washed with olive-colored highlights. McArthur avoids issues of Buddhist doctrine to a fault; integrating into her discussion the distinguishing characteristics of the various schools of Buddhism (mainly Mahayana, Vajrayana and Theravada) would clarify elements of each tradition's unique art forms and would add texture to her otherwise superb introduction.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"McArthur has set for herself no small task: to create a concise, accessible primer to the intricate world of Buddhist art. She succeeds."
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
bewilderingly disappointing,
By Saul Boulschett "Anyway" (Dry land) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Reading Buddhist Art (Hardcover)
I don't like to write reviews for books that are not good but I feel that people should think twice before spending their money on this one.Imagine a book called 'Dictionary of European Words.' It would contain some German verbs, some French nouns, some Italian adjectives, etc. How useful is it going to be? This book would be a cousin to such an imaginary but nontheless absurd book. My main gripe is that, as someone already pointed out, it is badly organized. It is nearly useless as a reference book. The faults are too many to mention, so I shall not, except for just one example: all the pictures are B&W, and not even numbered, so that one has to sort through just to figure out which description applies to which one of the many illustration found on the same page. The real source of the problem with this book is that it tries to cover way too many cultures -- from Thailand to Korea to Japan to Bhutan -- and it tries this in a mere 216 pages (!), including the frontispiece, blanks, and index: as if a Guide to Buddhist Art could be done like a store catalogue. Just the symbolism of the mudras alone would easily take 200 pages, I should think. Every Buddhist culture has its own peculiar relationship and input to Buddhism. Although there are large areas of doctrinal overlap that all Buddhist cultures have in common, each culture still has its own line-up and order in the pantheon of deities, rituals, implements and practices. This book blithely glosses right over them -- like Doria looking for Nemo in the deep blue sea. On that note, it bears mentioning that the author has a MA in Asian Art from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, with a major in Japanese Art. My feeling is that the author herself has but a superficial familiarity with the topic at hand. But to be fair, it might be somewhat helpful to those just beginning their studies and are grabbing at straws.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Potentially good reference needs more work,
By A Customer
This review is from: Reading Buddhist Art (Hardcover)
Despite nice illustrations and photos, this work suffers most from poor organization. Instead of going through each of the building blocks f Himalayan statuary and iconography, then putting them together (i.e., mudras, vehicles, hand objects, etc.), it is organized (not right word) in a peculiar fashion that resists its use as a reference book. Often it goes into great detail about trivial things, then omits more important things. For example, it clutters the landscape with discussions about different sects - this is really premature. If you read German, my recommendation is buying Wolfgang Schumann's masterful "Buddhistische Bilderwelt" [The world of Buddhist Iconography], which you can probably buy from www.amazon.de.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eleven Heads and Eight Arms,
By A Customer
This review is from: Reading Buddhist Art (Hardcover)
Buddhism is cool. All around us we see Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Tibetan prayer flags, and people standing at bus stops with their hands in mudras. Buddhism has been cool for a long time and throughout Asia smart people and devoted people have spent a long time delving into the elaborate stories about enlightened ones, buddhas of the past and future, celestial deities. Some have morphed from men to women. Some can save your soul, heal you, make you happy when you're sad. Meher McArthur's book can help you find your way through the bewhildering maze of Buddhist imagery and iconography. Laid out in a intuitive style and clearly explained, this guide is especially useful to students trying to get a grip on why that statue has eleven heads and eight arms. Highly recommended.
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