Buddha’s Image in Modern Art: Expert and Critical Approaches

Abstract

The goal of this article is to formulate the main criteria for the analysis of contemporary art in general, with a specific focus on works including sacred image of Buddha, from an art-historical perspective. The development of an expert assessment approach in this area is a necessary step because most researchers of contemporary art containing various religious or sacred images describe them only from an artistic viewpoint or explore the general cultural context. The authors present several questions as assessment criteria, answers to which will be able to help the experts reach their conclusions. What is the purpose of creating an image? What role does the material chosen by an artist play in shaping the artistic image? Does the multidimensionality of meanings appear in the artistic image of the work? Does the work refer to a non-finite? While discussing these issues, we analyse the works of Pema Namdol Thae, Climent Brie, Nam Joon Paik, Yeshe Gombo and others.