“Ugo Rondinone: I ♡ John Giorno” Exhibition

“Ugo Rondinone: I ♡ John Giorno” Exhibition

Hunter College Art Galleries (205 Hudson St.)

This event has ended.

JOHN GIORNO AND TIBETAN BUDDHISM
With works by John Giorno and Ugo Rondinone

“When you’re a Buddhist, you work with your mind in meditation, and with various practices you train the mind to realize its empty nature. Strangely, that’s the way I make poems! Maybe it’s developing the ability to see what arises in one’s mind, how it arises and its nature, that makes Buddhism very sympathetic to poets.” — John Giorno

John Giorno was first introduced to Buddhism during his undergraduate studies at Columbia University in 1956 as part of its Core Curriculum. After several trips to India during the 1970s, he discovered Tibetan Buddhism and became a disciple of Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–1987), master of the Nyingmapa lineage, which Giorno actively helped to promulgate in the United States.

Every New Year since 1986 Giorno has welcomed Buddhist masters and students to his home for the traditional fire ceremony, during which the obstacles of the previous year are released to usher in the new one. For this exhibition, Giorno’s personal shrine from his home, which is decorated with intricate brocade from the sacred pilgrimage site of Benaras in India, has been relocated to the gallery space. Additionally, selected from the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art, a group of eighteen thangkas—Tibetan paintings—are also on display along with two from Giorno’s personal collection.

Padmasambhava, the founding figure of the Nyingmapa order, is depicted in a number of the works. Considered to be a “Second Buddha” in Tibet, Padmasambhava played a predominant role in the advancement of Buddhism across Tibet in the 8th century. Padmasambhava is endowed with superhuman qualities and shown through Tibetan iconography in a variety of forms.

Guru Pema Drakpo is one of the most wrathful depictions of Padmasambhava, an illustration of the powerful energy required to neutralize and transmute the obstacles that inevitably arise on the path to Enlightenment and spiritual accomplishment. He holds in his hand a vajra or “Diamond Thunderbolt,” a symbol of Enlightenment and a ritual object. Padmasambhava is believed to have been essential to the dissemination of the teachings of the Vajrakila, also known as the “Diamond Dagger,” throughout Tibet.

Conversely, Guru Pema Jungne is a more peaceful depiction of Padmasambhava. Known as the “Lotus-Born,” he is often shown sitting on a flower and dressed in the robes of a monk, teaching Dharma to the people. In his right hand he holds a diamond scepter, while in his left he holds a skullcap of clear nectar.

AIDS TREATMENT PROJECT
With works by John Giorno, Ugo Rondinone and Peter Ungerleider

205 Hudson Gallery presents material from Giorno’s AIDS Treatment Project begun in 1984. Conceived as a direct-action program, Giorno described it as “my personal effort to combat with all-pervasive compassion, the catastrophe of the AIDS epidemic. Cash grants for emergency situations: back rent, telephone and utilities, food, nursing, alternative medicine not covered by Medicaid, taxis, whatever is needed. Money given with love and affection.”

Facilitated through his non-profit foundation Giorno Poetry Systems, many artists in his LP series, such as William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Patti Smith, among many others, donated their royalties to the AIDS Treatment Project. Giorno also organized benefit performances at the Beacon Theater with artists including Debbie Harry, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and Sonic Youth; and posters from these concerts are included here. The AIDS Treatment Project concluded in 2004, though Giorno has continued to help poets and artists since with medical problems.

Peter Ungerleider’s film Loving Kindness, presented with the AIDS Treatment Project documentation, is a portrait of Giorno that focuses on his work with the AIDS Treatment Project interspersed with his musings on death within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Media

• Installation

ADVERTISE ON NYAB