Click here to view the embedded video.

Raheem Thorpe, a Staging actor, talks about Sugimoto’s Sea of Buddha and how he feels about being back at the Pulitzer since being part of Staging Old Masters.

by Amy Broadway, Interim PR Coordinator

One of the main goals of Staging workshops is that the actors personally connect with the artworks in Reflections of the Buddha. The company will craft and perform scenes in the spring based on musings about the stars of the exhibition, such as Prince Shotoku, the giant sculpture of a left hand, or perhaps Oscar Munoz’s La Línea del Destino (Line of Destiny). The works haven’t been officially chosen yet, and it will be interesting to see what gets picked.

Several Fridays ago, Agnes Wilcox, the artistic director of Prison Performing Arts and the workshop leader, asked the actors to pair off, peruse the exhibition, and speculate about the images they saw. Afterwards, the exhibition’s curator, Francesca Herndon-Consagra, led Staging through the galleries, sharing her knowledge of the artistry, cultural history, and meaning behind the works.

In the video above, Raheem Thorpe, a graduate of the Staging Old Masters program, talks about how he and his peers first interpreted Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Sea of Buddha and what they learned from Francesca. The last time I saw Raheem, he was working with teaching artist Jenny Murphy in Urban Renewal, part of the Urban Alchemy series of programs Transformation. You can see him interviewed in 2010 here. He’s great on camera, and I look forward to seeing him on stage (Staging will perform in the galleries alongside the art).

As a side note, many of you may recall that this is not the first time the Pulitzer has been graced with Sugimoto creations. As we celebrate our tenth year–which officially began in October– we’re looking back at past exhibitions and web catalogues. Click here for another blast from the past, a look at our 2006 exhibition Hiroshi Sugimoto: Photographs of Joe.

Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure and fortune of becoming acquainted with many members of the Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis. They have generously and enthusiastically shared their time and energy with the Pulitzer in developing and facilitating many aspects of the diverse programming for Reflections of the Buddha. In particular, I have been working with several local Buddhist groups affiliated with the Council, to coordinate the Pulitzer’s phenomenally successful meditation series.

Not knowing how incredibly popular this series would turn out to be, each week has brought its own set of challenges. The first week was very exciting for all of us planning it, and we did everything we could think of to be prepared for hosting the 50-60 people we expected. It was a particularly funny thing we didn’t think of though–what do you do with the castoff shoes of 50 meditators? Oops! We did not plan for the piles of footwear, but by the second week we had assembled shelving to further eliminate what could have been a potential fire hazard. Now, if only we could count on everyone to actually use the cubbies! Of course, we continue to do our duty to keep the space safe and comfortable, but this requires a certain amount of finesse and thinking on the fly.

That’s another funny thing about planning large, extended events like this, and why it’s especially valuable to me that I have the opportunity to work with such gracious and magnanimous people as those I have. I very gratefully acknowledge this is one of those serendipitous learning opportunities life hands us every so often. Not only do I get to learn the many complex nuances of public programming and event planning, but I have the added blessing of working with some of the kindest, most patient people. And considering that one of the key notions underpinning most Buddhist thought is that all things are in a constant state of change, impermanence is the nature of things, we are also dealing with experts in how to be flexible and open-minded.

A kind of inside joke I keep throwing into internal conversations around the Pulitzer is, “Well, at least we’re working with Buddhists, right?” By that I mean, “Could we ask for anyone nicer or more understanding?” It’s true! While our galleries are open to the public only two days out of the week, there is constant activity behind the scenes to ensure our best efforts go to promoting the visitor experience. Though as with any other large undertaking, the reality is there are challenges, struggles, and even at times unfulfilled expectations. The best laid plans sometimes end up getting thrown out the window!

Fortunately, in the case with the meditation series, the unanticipated popularity has only brought out the best in people. Though some interested parties have had to be wait-listed, and some who made reservations have had to cancel for illness, injury, or inconvenient schedule changes, I can honestly say that I’m blown away with everyone’s patience and understanding with the ongoing evolution of this program. From the dedicated practitioners, to my incredibly supportive and helpful coworkers, to the many attending participants, everyone has shown such grace and loveliness to myself and each other. It has been such a wholly positive–dare I say enlightening–experience to interact with so many people who dedicate their time, their energy, and some of them their whole lives, to bettering themselves, their minds, their lives, and the world around them.

I cannot even begin to describe all of the inspiring activities and conversations I have been allowed to participate in over the last few months for this project. I have even been kindly invited to their monthly Council meetings. They hold their meetings at various affiliated temples, so this has given me opportunities to visit several local groups in person. It is always with a warm reception and usually tea and cookies, that I have been so welcomed. About a month and a half ago, my colleague Sevda Safarova and I were treated to an array of interesting and unfamiliar tasty foods at the monthly Thai Food Fair at the St. Louis Thai Temple. Our generous host, Dr. Kongsak Tanphaitchitr, Secretary of the temple and Chairman of the Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis, showed us around their lovely grounds and invited us to join their festivities. He and Naronk Hompleum, a fellow member of the Wat Phrasriratanaram Thai Temple, will be leading the two meditation sessions this Saturday at the Pulitzer.

We can look forward to the next three weekends rounding out what has been a very full and generally fulfilling seven-week series. Since each of the past four Saturday morning mediation sessions at the Pulitzer have been so well-attended, we are now going to be offering additional afternoon sessions for the upcoming three Saturdays: October 29, and November 5 and 12. While it appears that these sessions will soon, if not already, be full for pre-registration. We continue to encourage folks to contact meditations@pulitzerarts.org in order to receive the most up-to-date information.

by Emily Augsburger, Community Projects Coordinator

As we approach the end of October, the community projects department will begin our project for this exhibition:  Staging Reflections of the Buddha (Staging).  Before I began at the Pulitzer, I had heard about the project through the Brown School of Social Work, and I was completely inspired by the connection between social work and the arts. I am ecstatic to now be a part of the inner workings of this profound project.

For the past few months, we have been busily working with our amazing Staging team as we recruit actors and strategize the epic adventure ahead. Next Friday, we will hold our first workshop with the Staging actors. Agnes Wilcox will lead the process, and our team will work for the next seventeen weeks on the creation of the final performances. I am ecstatic that I am able to bear witness to and participate in the powerful transformation of the human spirit that comes from a project like Staging.  I look forward to keeping you posted on the Staging process as we progress. Cheers!

Staging Old Masters, 2009, Ideal (Dis-) Placements: Old Masters at the Pulitzer.

by Lisa Harper Chang, Community Projects Director

Once in a great while, we are fortunate enough to have professional experiences that are revelatory and make profound impact on our hearts, as well. I was fortunate enough to have one of these experiences with our 2009 project Staging Old Masters. The actors with whom we had the privilege and joy of working simultaneously put into question and answered what shape this collaboration between social work and arts could take.

It is with great hope, a healthy dose of intimidation, and endless excitement that I share with you the news that we will be offering Staging Reflections of the Buddha, a project inspired and informed by our previous Staging program and by the amazingly thoughtful exhibition curated so brilliantly by our senior curator, Francesca Herndon-Consagra. With this iteration of Staging, we will continue our work with Prison Performing Arts (PPA) and Employment Connection while expanding our partnerships to include St. Patrick Center. While all of our actors last time were new clients to our social service partners, we thought it would be both impactful for all involved and meaningful to integrate alumni from Staging Old Masters and PPA with new clients. All of our actors are in some state of transition–homelessness, formerly incarcerated, ex-military (combat and non-combat)–just at different stages of their journey. Their journeys unite with ours through theatre experiences amidst the art and through shared ritual in an exhibition-inspired lantern ceremony marking the end of the exhibition and commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Pulitzer.

Over the coming months we are thrilled to share with you the intimate details of the program. Please join us on this journey, as we explore how to unlock the creative potential in all of us.

FULL STAGING WEBSITE LAUNCHING SOON

Sydney Norton, curatorial assistant at the Pulitzer, gives an overview of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Karunamaya) in the Cube Gallery. (What is the difference between a Bodhisattva and a Buddha?)

Tomorrow is the second in our series of curatorial gallery tours related to Reflections of the Buddha. If you’re looking for an in-depth understanding of this rich exhibition, an hour-long tour won’t do it, but it might help. Tomorrow, from 2 to 3 p.m., senior curator Francesca Herndon-Consagra will share some of what inspired her in developing the exhibition as well as the significance of the some of the works within cultural history and Buddhism. For a list of all the regular talks and tours for Reflections of the Buddha, visit our main website.

Numerous distinct conversations bubble up all around. They rise and fall, in and out of audibility, and they fade through one another interconnected. A woman talks excitedly about the kind of power she wields on a new contract her firm acquired, while a man nearby describes ways to create inexpensive, handmade Christmas gifts. The front door slams behind a girl storming off, spitting into her phone, “You can’t text me things like that!” At a table by the door, an older couple turns back to discussing their evening plans, while their immediate neighbor continues describing to a colleague her convoluted career path from social work to epidemiology.

I’m sitting in a cafe listening back to an interview recorded with the Venerable Sungak Sunim last week, but I’m also listening to the eclectic noise of my neighbors. I am mostly able to focus on the recording, but occasionally I get carried away by the curious chatter all around me. I don’t know these people, and I don’t really know anything about them except the tiny, little bits that float in through my ears. However, as I hear Sungak’s digitized voice, louder than the rest, it’s almost like her voice is giving subtitles to the mostly indiscernible din behind it. “100 Bhikkunis in the same room. We eat the food. You cannot hear any sound..,” then she fades to a whisper, “only quiet.” I can’t help but notice the great contrast between her description and the scene before me presently.

A Bhikkuni is a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic. Sungak is specifically of the  Chogye Order of Korean Buddhism. This past Saturday, October 1st we held the first of a series of seven workshops in our Meditation Series, and we were led by Sungak through a sitting meditation and then a walking meditation that wove around the Pulitzer’s courtyard. She also gave a very thoughtful and informative talk to introduce the group to several key concepts of Buddhist practices. Back in that interview she elaborated as to why the dining hall would be so silent, an idea inconceivable to me. “Eating is also another practice, walking is another practice, speaking is another practice.” Well, if all of these things are practice, when’s the big event?

I think it is probably my westernness talking, but I can’t help wondering, “What do you get at the end, after all the practice?” Then I think back to something else Sungak said in our conversation. I had asked why, of 100 new people who joined her each year to train as a Bhikkuni, only one or two completed the ten to fifteen year program. She explained that some came with false impressions that they were there to realize a dream they had for their lives, but quickly they found out it is all about the practice. “If their goal is to spend a nice life, they cannot stay. If their goal is boddhisatva life, they can stay.”

When she was just 20 years old, Sungak decided to dedicate herself to Buddhism completely, and she entered the monastery. Eventually, she found herself in St. Louis studying at Washington University, in the Brown School of Social Work. Upon competing that program, Sungak was aimed to pursue her PhD. Only, when her colleagues pleaded with her to continue leading a meditation group, and after deep contemplation on the idea, she decided it was time to start a temple. The Buddhanara Temple was opened in 2002. It is currently located in University City, and they have an introduction to meditation night every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

The Buddhanara Temple was established to answer a group of people’s desire for guidance and teaching. This week’s meditation workshop features leaders from the Shinzo Sangha, also located in University City. This group came together also to address a peoples’ need. Oddly, though many Buddhist temples and meditation groups will take on service projects to better their communities in any number of ways, the Shinzo Sangha developed in a slightly different way. They started through their service efforts, first addressing the demand for Buddhist teachings to be available to incarcerated individuals in the state of Missouri, and now their projects are multiplying. Currently, they are working to continue their support of those imprisoned with their organization Inside Dharma, as well, they are continually trying to find feasible, novel, and creative ways to provide support and infrastructure to the many homeless, who are being pushed to the margins of St. Louis City and surrounding areas.

by Courtney Henson, Visitor Services Manager

Coordinating the Frame of Reference talks has become a way to meet new and interesting people.  As a staff, we brainstorm a lengthy list of names of individuals who we think would have a diverse set of perspectives on the works in our current exhibition.  For Reflections of the Buddha, the list includes various sects of Buddhist practitioners, artists, philosophers, yoga instructors, and art historians just to name a few.  The experience of viewing Buddhist works at the Pulitzer will have different meanings for different people.  The Frame of Reference talks share in 15-minute increments one perspective. Typically we have a minimum of four speakers and move from each work with the speakers and any guests interested in hearing.  Sometimes the talks share ideas and sometimes they do not, but these short talks are a great way to get new insights on the work.  I look forward to hearing the talks this weekend and being enlightened through a whole new set of eyes.  Works discussed this Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m., include “The  Universal Gateway of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara,” Chapter Twenty Five of the Lotus Sūtra (Miaofa lianhua jing Guanshiyin pusa pumenpin), with an Appended Heart Sūtra (Xin jing), Standing Buddha Śākyamuni (Shijiamouni), Standing Prince Shōtoku at Age Two (Shōtoku Taishi Nisaizō) and The Monk Ananda (Anantuo). 

See the schedule of speakers here.

Monks from the Mid-American Buddhist Association chant on Vesak Day. Listen to them and members of other Buddhist temples at the Reflections of the Buddha opening reception.

As you readers may have noticed, there hasn’t been much to read here recently, but I assure you the Pulitzer staff and its partners have been busy the past three weeks. Much has happened since Dreamscapes concluded with KDHX DJs emitting dreamy sounds throughout the galleries. Everyone has been developing programs, events, catalogues, docent trainings, and community connections as part of our next exhibition, Reflections of the Buddha.

As I write this, senior curator Francesca Herndon-Consagra is working with art handlers and registrars to configure awe-inspiring statues and thangkas in relation to the Ando building (quite a humbling experience, they might say). These works date from the second to the twentieth century and were created in Afghanistan, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet. If you would like a sneak peek, visit the Reflections of the Buddha web catalogue holding page and download the gallery guide. Witness the works in person by attending our opening reception next Friday, September 9, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Since Reflections of the Buddha showcases  works born from the culture and philosophy of Buddhism, the Pulitzer decided to partner with Buddhism specialists in the St. Louis community and beyond for several programs and events. As a complement to the opening festivities, at 6 p.m., members of the Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis will share an opening chant, featuring examples of Buddhist traditions living in the St. Louis area.

Donald Sloane, a member of the Mid-American Buddhist Associate explains, “The monks from the Thai Temple will begin with the opening lines of a blessing of the Buddha in Pali, the language closest to that of Gotama Buddha. The Thai monks represent the original tradition of Theravada. The monks will continue the chanting in English. Next the Heart Sutra will be chanted, first in English, led by the community from MABA, and then in Chinese, led by those from Fo Guang Shan. The Heart Sutra is from the Mahayana tradition and a teaching from Guanyin, who is represented in the exhibition.”

Members of the Buddhist Council of Greater St. Louis will also lead meditation workshops at the Pulitzer and be available on the third Saturdays of the month along with docents to discuss works from the perspective of Buddhism. There will be information about these and all of our programs at the opening and on our website by next Friday.

Kristina Van Dyke,  Photo by George Hixson | Courtesy of The Menil Collection

KRISTINA VAN DYKE APPOINTED AS NEW DIRECTOR OF THE PULITZER FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
 
August 5, 2011, St. Louis, MO — The Board of Trustees of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts today announced its unanimous decision to appoint Kristina Van Dyke as Director, following an intensive international search.  Ms. Van Dyke, currently the Curator for Collections and Research at The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas, will begin working full-time at the Foundation on November 7.  Joining the Pulitzer as it prepares to celebrate its tenth anniversary, she will work closely with Trustees and staff to oversee the exhibitions program, as well as other scholarly, artistic and community-related programming, including the contemporary chamber music series.  Ms. Van Dyke succeeds Matthias Waschek, who served as Director of the Foundation for more than seven years.
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Robert W. Duffy, associate editor at St. Louis Beacon, introduces Kristina Van Dyke and offers a look at the history of the Pulitzer:  ”Pulitzer Foundation names new director“

Theaster Gates and his students talk about Gate’s summer course through Washington University in St. Louis. During the class, students worked with Gates to rehab a house in Hyde Park and devise ways in which the house can be used as an arts hub for the neighborhood.

Community projects at the Pulitzer have always raised questions of sustainability. In understanding our institution’s ever-evolving role within the community arts of St. Louis, we are a catalyst, incubator, and (at our best moments) innovator. We work to enhance the already-impressive, effective, and inspiring work of our colleagues by bringing both the strengths of a cutting-edge arts institution dedicated to promoting the personal experience with all arts and social work practice. This means, however, that we are at risk of violating one of the founding principles of community practice by parachuting into a community then exiting quickly, without sustaining commitment to the communities with whom we worked. In principle, we are keenly aware of this and have attempted to balance our institutional identity with ethical community practice by forging partnerships with institutions that have the potential to carry the innovation forward. As this department is coming upon its fourth year, we are still in the process of learning what it means to “carry the innovation forward” and just how much continued support and involvement it might take from the “catalyst”.

Take Theaster Gates in Hyde Park for example. Theaster entered this community through our project, which was a collaboration between Holy Trinity Academy and Succeeding with Reading, a program that had existed at Holy Trinity Academy for a few years preceding Urban Expression, the Pulitzer-catalyzed program inspired by our exhibition, Urban Alchemy/Gordon Matta-Clark. He was captured by the community—particularly, the kids—and became committed to arts-infused community development in the neighborhood. While our exhibitions changed (and the programs with it), we were able to stay involved by co-sponsoring the CityStudioSTL (Somethingness: Ways of Seeing and Building) with the Sam Fox School of Visual Art and Design at Washington University in St. Louis. In so doing, we are figuring out our institution’s role in ensuring that Theaster’s commitment to Hyde Park (through Rebuild Foundation) has a better chance at success. It’s a work in progress, but the brilliant work of Theaster, his employees, and the students of this summer class have provided another huge step toward fulfilling the potential of a beautiful, if neglected neighborhood and doing so by forging partnerships between existing community members and those from the outside. We’ll keep you posted as his work evolves.