Atsara, the Bhutanese version of a clown, and the most popular dancer in the ceremony, frequently gets roars laughter from the crowd. This big, red-nosed character wields a large wooden penis, waves it in women's faces, and tries to get them to grab and shake this dildo. Often mocking and tricking the other dancers as well as laymen in the crowd, this "divine jester" acts out the relationship between the sacred and profane, yin and yang, inner life and external events.
The Atsara represents the "crazy wisdom" tradition of Tantra as personified by Bhutan's "patron saint," the "Divine Madman" Drukpa Kunley. Also known as the "Mad Monk," Lama Kunley wandered Bhutan and Tibet with his little dog, Sachi, drinking, playing with the girls, and demonstrating that the blissful nature of all phenomena is realized in the union of duality. In his teachings, Kinley often referred to his erect member as "the thunderbolt of wisdom.”
PHOTO PRINTS
Prints are on Hahnemuhle heavyweight (315 gsm) 100% archival cotton “Photo Rag Baryta” paper, using archival inks and archival spray coating. They have a 200-year life expectancy before any deterioration of the print will be observed when stored, handled, and displayed under archival conditions.
CANVAS PRINTS
What is often called “Gallery Wrap Canvas” is a fine art inkjet (Giclee) print on canvas, with printed edges to wrap around a wooden stretcher frame, like a painting. With canvas prints, your print image is still the same size, but given a "wrap effect" around the edges to account for the thickness of the stretcher. Canvas can be rolled and shipped with no effect to the print. Your local framing shop should be able to mount the canvas to stretchers at a fraction of the cost of traditional framing, making for an overall more economical way to get fine art on your wall. The canvas is printed to wrap around a 1-inch stretcher (1.5 inches on larger sizes). Specifications will be provided with your order. Feel free to contact us if you need guidance with your canvas order.
John prints, titles, dates, and signs all of his photos.
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