Book display "Murals of Tibet"

Since February 2020, after more than one year residing wrapped up on its palette, and after being moved safely from our former SAI abode in Neuenheimer Feld 330 to the CATS Library, the gorgeous book “Murals of Tibet” from Taschen-Verlag is being displayed in the foyer of the CATS Library.

„A World Heritage landmark, this SUMO-sized publication presents the most precious surviving murals of Tibetan Buddhist culture. For the first time, these astonishing and intricate masterpieces can be appreciated in blazing colour and life-size resolution. Signed by his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the book is a revelation for scholars, aficionados of Tibet as well as for practitioners of Buddhism, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.“ (Taschen Verlag)

The illustrations - printed in five colours including gold - are bound in a volume 70 centimetres high and 50 centimetres wide, and weighs 23 kilograms. Six fold-outs give impressive panoramas of the paintings. It rests on a foldable bookstand, made from recycled paper and designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect and humanitarian pioneer Shigeru Ban. Over a period of ten years, Thomas Laird photographed the murals in twelve Tibetan monasteries, temples and palaces. The presentation in the codex follows a route that might have been taken by pilgrims.

A scholarly companion of more than 500 pages accompanies this book, where „… Thomas Laird contextualizes his journey in realizing this visual archive in a personal essay, Bob Thurman gives an insightful account of the spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. Heather Stoddard researched all the site descriptions and captions of the murals throughout the book with the assistance of Cameron Bailey, except for those of the Lukhang, which were researched by Jakob Winkler.“ (Taschen Verlag)

You are welcome to browse through both the huge illustrated book and its companion in the foyer of the CATS Library. Please be reminded to wear the latex gloves provided next to the book.

Our sincere gratitude for this generous gift goes to the humble donator who wants to remain anonymous.

Further information

In HEIDI:
Laird, Thomas: Murals of Tibet / Thomas Laird. Texts by Thomas Laird, Robert Thurman, Heather Stoddard and Jakob Winkler. Design by Andy Disl. - Köln: TASCHEN, 2018, ISBN 978-3-8365-3312-6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i997q3lGkzM
Murals of Tibet
2:27 min.
TASCHEN presents MURALS OF TIBET – a thousand years of masterpieces revealed for the first time. This SUMO-sized publication gathers the most precious surviving murals of Tibetan Buddhist culture. For more than a decade, photographer Thomas Laird has compiled the world’s first archive of these artworks, some walls as wide as 10 meters, in life-size resolution. This publication, featuring both complete murals and copious details, immerses readers into these precious, extraordinary masterpieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeYadxq7A-0#action=share
Murals of Tibet – Making of
3:50 min.
TASCHEN presents MURALS OF TIBET – a thousand years of masterpieces revealed for the first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omXhctDtmLQ
Murals of Tibet at the Explorers Club, New York
2:54 min.
Thomas Laird and Richard Gere in conversation about TASCHEN’s landmark project Read more at https://tsc.hn/b1246yt On Thursday, April 26th, TASCHEN was thrilled to welcome 100 guests for a conversation between actor and activist Richard Gere and Murals of Tibet photographer Thomas Laird at the Explorers Club. The evening at the New York institution saw the audience captivated by a riveting talk about the speakers’ mutual love for Tibet and its people as well as their respective experiences with Buddhist practice and theory. In a dialogue moderated by the US editor of the Financial Times, Gillian Tett, Gere and Laird elaborated on their relationships with His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as other common teachers and stressed the importance of Murals of Tibet as a unique work celebrating Tibetan culture and heritage. Gere expressed his admiration for Thomas Laird’s painstaking efforts to bring the murals of Tibet to a global audience and highlighted the significance of the book for Buddhist practitioners and scholars alike. Both speakers and guests congratulated Thomas Laird and TASCHEN on their landmark project, recognizing the book not only as a tribute to the stunning art it depicts, but also as a tool for further research and an unparalleled archive of Tibetan art to be treasured by future generations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkhwBn2ocL4
Launching Murals of Tibet
2:30 min.
The Murals of Tibet Journey Begins
From March 9 to 18, 2018, Murals of Tibet took center stage at TASCHEN’s black-and-gold-accented booth at TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s most prominent arts, antiques, and design fair. Collectors and art lovers from across the globe were given a first opportunity to get up close and personal with TASCHEN’s most ambitious project to date, an edition of 998 copies each signed by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. In appreciation of our SUMO-sized volume as a meditative and spiritual experience, visitors took their time soaking in the magnificent large-scale murals immortalized in blazing colors over 500 pages. The booth was especially busy the morning of Thursday, March 15, when author and photographer Thomas Laird recounted his journey in realizing this visual archive, enlightening visitors on how crucial such a large-format book is for preserving this chapter of Tibet’s cultural heritage for coming generations. Following Laird’s presentation, Murals of Tibet was further celebrated with a private reception hosted by René Rousseau, an avid TASCHEN collector and curator of last year’s exhibition A Passion for TASCHEN – A Collector’s View at Museum aan het Vrijthof in Maastricht.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdNcYKe4yrk
Murals of Tibet｜Taschen出版鉅獻：千年西藏壁畫首度完整問世
6:17 min. Englisch, mit chin. und engl. Untertiteln
世界重要遺產，珍貴製書過程公開！
出版史上第一次，50 x 70公分大部頭開本出版巨作！
全球限量998本，每本皆有第十四世達賴喇嘛親筆簽名！
達賴喇嘛：「這些壁畫不只是藝術品，同時也是佛教徒、瑜珈修行者及喜愛冥想等追求心靈平靜之人的參考和指引。」
作者Thomas Laird歷經十年長途跋涉，運用現代數位攝影技術將寬幅達十公尺的千年壁畫重現於紙面，完美呈現古老畫作令人驚嘆的細膩筆觸及紋樣細節。
2018年3月首度於香港巴塞爾國際展會曝光，吸引眾多頂級藝品藏家的注目；1～40號價值30,000美金的「藝術家收藏版」（Art Edition）旋即在該展會上銷售一空。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJLWQhJPuwI
Sublime : il photographie les fresques cachées du Tibet
2:33 min.
Le photographe et écrivain américain Thomas Laird a immortalisé les fresques bouddhiques d'une douzaine de monastères tibétains. Inaccessibles au public, certaines de ces peintures cachées sont menacées par les dégradations du temps. Ces photographies sont publiées aux éditions Taschen dans le livre en très grand format "Murals of Tibet", tiré à seulement 998 exemplaires, tous signés par le dalaï-lama lui-même et vendus à partir de 10.000 euros.