Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang

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Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang

December 1, 2012 - December 9, 2012

Museum: Sackler Gallery

Location: Outside in heated tent in Moongate Garden. Obtain free, timed tickets in the Sackler Gallery.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, the Sackler Gallery's "digital cave" transports you to a site where exquisite murals can be explored in depth. On view for the first time in North America, Pure Land is an immersive digital experience using 3-D modeling, animations, video, and recoloring to re-create one of the famous Chinese Buddhist cave temples of Dunhuang. Colorful murals come alive in this hyper-real tour of one of the world's important treasures.

Ticketing information: Free, 15-minute timed tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10 AM in the Sackler Gallery's pavilion. Last entry is at 5:15 PM. There is a limit of 10 persons per 15-minute viewing time. Tickets are only available for a given day.

SOURCE: SMITHSONIAN

“Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang” is an immersive digital experience of a Chinese Buddhist cave, on view for the first time in North America. Using 3-D modeling, animations, video and recoloring, the installation recreates one of the famous Buddhistcave temples of Dunhuang, China. Colorful murals come alive with floating figures, performing musicians and a looming three-dimensional Buddha sculpture, allowing visitors to step inside a hyper-real tour of one of the world’s most important treasures. “Pure Land” is a project of the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Center of the City University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with the ALIVE project and Dunhuang Academy.

The installation will be located in a heated tent in the adjacent Moongate Garden Dec. 1–Dec. 9. It recreates one of the famous Buddhist cave temples of Dunhuang, China—a UNESCO World Heritage Site currently closed to the public to ensure its preservation.

For more details, please refer to alive.scm.cityu.edu.hk/projects/alive/pure-land-inside-the-magao-grottoes-at-dunhuang-2012/

Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang Exhibition

“The idea of constructing Buddhist temples by hollowing out rock faces was brought to China from Central Asia, where monuments of this sort had been constructed for centuries. Over the years, more and more caves would be excavated and decorated as pious acts on the part of monks and artists. Most of the cave temples were begun in the north during the Northern Dynasties. Cave temples at Dunhuang were begun in 366; at Bingling and Maijishan in the early fifth century; at Yungang in 460; at Longmen and Gongxian in the early sixth century. During the Tang period additions were made to many of these cave temple complexes, especially Dunhuang and Longmen.”

Read on and find out more here….

SOURCE: IKONO.ORG