West Meets East.

I did make it to the Rubin museum while I was in New York, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip. The first several floors were filled with scroll paintings, figures, and objects from the Himalayan region, including Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan, and featuring Bodhisattvas, deities, and even a Tibetan Shrine Room where no photos were allowed, but a nice one is shown in this article.

Bodhisattva. Tibet. 12th century.

Green Tara. Tibet. 13th century

The highlight of highlights ended up being on the fifth floor, where the exhibit space departed from ancient times and entered the 20th century. The Approaching Abstraction Exhibit contained an eye-opening selection of modernist art from India. Eye-opening in that I did not know any of it existed!

Red Pot by Shanti Dave. 1962.

Untitled work by Ram Kumar. 1974.

Best yet was a 15-minute film from 1969-70 by Tyeb Mehta called Koodal. A mix of ritual, observation, and visual commentary, it reminded me of an early Baraka. I took a few shots, shown here:

Then found out after a hearty scolding that this was the one floor (besides the shrine room) where I was not allowed to take photos. Oops. Glad I found that out as I was leaving!