NAMARUPA Magazine
ISSUE 10 VOL 04, OCTOBER 2009
ON THE ABSTRACTION OF SACRED FORMS IN THE ART OF M.F. HUSAIN
by Siddhartha V. Shah
In all parts of the world and throughout history, both religion and mythology have served as major inspirations to artists. The art of the ancient world is filled with countless representations of deities from pantheons that have long since entered the realm of dead religions their forms and stories are familiar to many but gone are the days in which they were honored and venerated. A unique challenge arises, however, when a living religion s mythology is represented in visual art, particularly contemporary art; artists often face harsh disapproval by conservatives who do not wish to see their spiritual traditions revisioned in a modern visual language. M.F. Husain, an internationally-acclaimed painter, has strived since 1947 to develop an artistic style that pulls from traditional cultural materials while commenting directly on the contemporary world.
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NAMARUPA Magazine
ISSUE 08 Volume 03, September 2008
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT BEER:
Glimpses into the artist's life in general and Newar art in particular
by Dr. Robert E. Svoboda
 Robert Beer has studied Tibetan thangka painting for more than thirty years. One of the first Westerners to become actively involved in this art form, he initially studied for a period of five years in India and Nepal with several of the finest Tibetan artists living at the time. Since 1975, he has lived in England, working consistently on developing the artistic skills, vision, patience, and understanding of this highly complex subject as well as the historical and cultural contexts within which it arises.
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NAMARUPA Magazine
ISSUE 6, SUMMER 2007
IN DEFENSE OF BEAUTY AND THE SACRED:
On The Representation of Gods and Goddesses,
in Practice and in Art
by Siddhartha V. Shah
Several years ago, I found myself sitting outside, looking up at the most brilliant night sky and contemplating the fact that the "stuff" composing the stars and all the magic of the cosmos is the very "stuff" that composes my body and every living thing. From a non-dual perspective, we humans are the same as the stars, the sun, and ev ery individual existent thing, visible and non-visible. In Vedanta, it is understood that consciousness imbues all and, in all of its chaos and inexplicable wonder, consciousness expresses itself both in the gruesome and, of course, in beauty.
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TRICYCLE Magazine
SPRING 2005
TANTRIC ART, THEN AND NOW:
by Robert Beer
 Over the centuries the impact of this encircling ring of artistic diversity, with the enduring influences of the ornate Newar and spacious Chinese styles, gradually gave rise to the unique mode of expression that we now identify as “Tibetan art,” the most recognizable form of which is the thangka, or scroll painting.
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YOGI TIMES Magazine
OCTOBER 2006
DIVINE INSPIRATION:
by Siddhartha V. Shah
I f it were possible to transport ourselves through time and space, to the very origin of human life and, thus, the human need for expression, we would find one very potent truth that underlies virtually all of mankind's most brilliant creations: the celebration of the Divine through beauty and creativity.
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