Talk: "Mind and Murals: The Buddhist Cave Paintings of the Mogao Grottoes in China" by Eugene Y. Wang

• Event Date: Monday, November 9, 2015
• Time: 4:00 pm (CST)
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free Admission

• Talk

Part of the CAS/MillerComm Lecture Series

Buddhist cave paintings remain a source of wonder and mystery. These murals are based on unrelated sutras so there is no clear means to explain why they belong together. Furthermore, Buddhist meditation rarely requires looking at wall painting, and the low visibility in cave shrines makes viewing a challenging, if not utterly impossible, experience. Why are caves filled with murals nonetheless?

Using a fifth-century cave at Dunhuang as an example, Eugene Wang demonstrates the programmatic logic that unifies the murals, sculptures, and architectural elements in these cave shrines.

The CAS/MillerComm public events series brings to campus people who offer unique cross-disciplinary contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of the university.

This Center for Advanced Study event is hosted by the Illinois Fire Service Institute International Programs in conjunction with the Art History Program, Collaborative for Cultural Heritage Management and Policy, Department of Computer Science, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Department of Religion, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Krannert Art Museum, School of Art and Design, and the Spurlock Museum.