21ST-CENTURY ENLIGHTENMENT Let’s face it: nothing gets a message across like lasers. Thanks to Manick Sorcar’s multimedia show “Enlightenment of Buddha,” special effects once confined to rock concerts and all-night raves are now serving the dharma. Winner of the Artistic Award for “best use of laser in a live stage performance” at the 2006 International Laser Display Association Conference in Rimini, Italy, the show integrates live performance, three-dimensional laser effects, and life-size animation. Siddhartha Gautama is shown on his way to enlightenment, despite interference by Mara, who is depicted solely by lasers. “Observing the lack of knowledge of the Americans about India and her culture forced me to . . . do something within my means to present it to the world,” Sorcar told the Indian national dailyThe Hindu. Just don’t let Mara hit you directly in the eye.
MANY PERSPECTIVES, ONE LAMA The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama is a collaborative exhibit featuring the works of 88 contemporary artists from 25 countries who have come together to share their individual reflections on the Dalai Lama’s message. The exhibition, at the UCLA Fowler Museum through September 10, 2006, is organized into ten thematic areas, including “Peace,” “Impermanence,” and “Transformation.” Among the contributors are such luminaries as Richard Avedon, Chuck Close, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Sanford Biggers. At the end of its tour—the show will travel to Chicago, New York, and other locations—the works will be auctioned in order to raise funds for advocacy groups the Dalai Lama Foundation and the Committee of 100 for Tibet.
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