COVER spring 1998 / planet of the arts 13 the positioning of the subject’s head in relation to the sky (heaven); and toning‘his prints in order to give their subjects a tangible aura. Most of the elements of this aesthetic are noticeably absent from Borges’ portraiture in other “culturally threatened” locations. An exam- ple of his portraiture from Ethiopia is reprinted at the top of the opposite page. The difference leaves us entertaining nasty speculations about what basis the photographer could possibly have to rep- resent Tibetans as _ pseudo-celebrities and Ethiopians as fantastically exotic oddities. The importance to Borges of the global power of his nation relates to his marketing strategy and clientele — the distribution network for his prints and books is the commercial gallery system. To the person who can drop a few hundred dollars unhesitatingly on a Borges photographic print of a Tibetan pseudo-celebrity, the purchase vindicates international social justice, a terrain developed over the years by non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and PEN. What does this have to do with the global power of the United States of America? The con- nection is the professional lobbying industry that connects Borges and the cash he collects through his gallery-based photographic entrepreneurial- ism, on the one hand, with the power of money to gain access and influence in the corridors of exec- utive and legislative power in Washington D.C., on the other. The characteristically United Statesian maxim that seems to be at work here is: if you have power, use it and don’t question it; if you need power, or anything else for that matter, buy it. Buy a Borges’ print, therefore, and your financial contribution will wend its way to Capitol Hill where it will prompt voices such as that of ultra-conservative Republican senator Jesse Helms to_ berate President Clinton for not getting tough on China in regard to Tibet. To be fair about who is targeted by pro-Tibet lobbyists in Washington, the Free Tibet message is also voiced by liberal Democrats. The strain of anti-Communism in Borges turns up ‘in his political history of Tibet-China relations: “Invaded by Chinese forces under Mao Tse-Tung in 1949, Tibet has remained under China’s occupation to this day.” In fact, the full- scale invasion of Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army did not occur until 1959. Borges choice of dates and his simplification of political history recalls the United Statesian world view under Eisenhower when China’s joining the USSR as a nuclear “red menace” made the world a dangerous place for United Statesian liberty. What Borges fails to mention is United Statesian (and British) acceptance of Chinese political claims over Tibet prior to 1949, and its acquiescence to superpower occupation in so-called spheres of influence, e.g., the CIA coup of 1954 in Guatemala. Rather than aiming for balance, Borges restricts himself to certain characteristically United Statesian themes — rights, individualism, a world order monitored by the United States. He chooses not to formulate his work in relation to concerns such as fairness, balance, depth; coher- ence and critical self-evaluation. There is no patri- otic duty to do so. There is pressure to sell books, however, a pres- sure which, as was noted above, induces modera- tion. From an ideological perspective, this tends to be viewed as fuzzification. Borges fuzzifies the hard core United Statesian political-constitutional slant to his Tibetan pho- tographs by construing his images as universal religious icons. Religion and politics do mix, of course, especially in the United States despite the constitutional separation there between Church and State. Nonetheless, the pretext that Borges’ Tibetan portraits are “spiritual” functions as a low order disclaimer of their rootedness in Borges’ politics. A second conceit that allows Borges to feign the stance of political innocence is to leave a large and important part of the writing in his book to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama provides a politi- cal angle via his Five Point Peace Plan, and his other quotes have a gentle tone that seems to rein- force the claim of Borges’ universalism and non- partisanship. A third technique used by Borges to diminish the obviousness of his politics is the use brief pho- tographic captions. Space limitations (whose self- imposed and politically convenient nature are probably are meant to be overlooked by the reader) restrict the photographer’s opportunity for politi- cal analysis to identification with tabloid-type clarity of who are the good guys (the Tibetans) and who are the bad guys (the Chinese). Galen Rowell’s big idea in My Tibet is to turn the entire Central Asian country into a nature sanctuary. It would be Yosemite writ-extra large and extra bold. Obviously there would be no place in this park for People’s Liberation Army soldiers, and so they would have to go back to wherever they came from. The political idea that seems to explain Rowell’s proposal is that super- power nations such as the United States and China have sanctioned demilita- From L to R: Sukhwinder Kaur Bains, Parmjit Chopra, Doonsjah Bichtra, Joginder Chopra, Lacit Mohan Bali (“Lucky”) GOOD LUCK FROM LUCKY on your big, big plans for the future! rized zones into existence previously, e.g., between the two Koreas. Thus perhaps realpolitik can allow the flowers to blossom again, as it were, in Tibet. It is extremely unlikely that realpolitik will ever convert Tibet into a huge Yosemite in Central Asia. Disregarding this fact, Rowell offers us a book intended to hasten into existence the Big Tibetan Park scenario by bridging the ecology move- ment and advocacy for a Free Tibet. There is an innate affinity, Rowell asserts, between Tibetan Buddhism and environmentalism, and between them a rising tide of popular enthusiasm -— which Rowell may have expected would bode well for sales of My Tibet. Rowell’s politics are fuzzy enough from the outset that he has little if any ideological pride to swallow or otherwise conceal in his quest for wide commercial appeal. My Tibet (the “my” pertains to the Dalai Lama, not Rowell) is filled with landscape and wildlife photographs printed in splashy colour on over-sized pages in the genre of the coffee-table book. We are told that these images were gath- ered during four trips to Tibet in the 1980s on behalf of National Geographic Magazine. These trips seem to have been welcomed by the Rowell smothers his readers’ intelligence with niceness and prettiness. Chinese colonial authorities in the context of an economic development plan that used members of the Western media to cultivate the touristic appeal of Tibet. Rowell’s book is an act of recycling: images he produced in the manner and for the purposes of the International Style Travelogue aesthetic are recuperated as the colourful framework that showcases six essays by the Dalai Lama on subjects such as peace, environmentalism and compassion. The ease of this recycling is a reflection of the political insipidness of these images in terms of their failure to represent the workings of colonial authority and the polit- ical subjugation that characterizes contemporary Tibet. This very insipidness infects My Tibet, which the reader can treat as little more than a picture book that happens to contain esoteric and hence easily disregarded writing by a celebrity guest author. , uch of the old city of Lhasa is methodi- cally being torn down and replaced by functional Chinese-run revenue hotels with chrome and blue-mirrored win- dows. Tibetans are witnessing the destruction of their natural habitat in a brazen attempt to strip away any Tibetan identity from the streets. Even the shop signs have now been standardized, uniformed, by the Chinese. Old Lhasa is quickly becoming new China. Dekyl Shar Lam leads down to the main Buddhist temple in Lhasa, the Jokhang. Circling the Jokhang is another street market, the Barkhor. The Barkhor is a strange mix of shopping and pray- ing. Pilgrims walk the circular street around the temple, starting and ending at the two large, stone incense burners in front of the Jokhang that spill aromatic clouds of juniper smoke across the open squore in front of the temple. Many worship- pers do the entire route prostrating themselves over and over again. Often protected with oval wooden pads on their hands and leather aprons on Woman collecting Mud, Kyi Chu River, near Ganden Monastery, Tibet, 1995 their bodies, these hard-core pilgrims are side- stepped by eager shoppers and faster, strolling Buddhists. Some of the young street urchins mak- ing the rounds on their bellies are doing it for peo- ple who have paid to have children do their prayers for them. The shops around the Barkhor are changing, too. More and more non-Tibetan stalls are opening up to sell ugly Asian rip-offs of American products: Marlboro cigarette T-shirts, polyester pantsuits and just plain, plastic junk. The Barkhor, until recently, was the most exotic market in the world. Where else could you buy a carved bowl made from a human skull, a necklace with a river of blue- green turquoise, and detailed ink-encrusted print- ing blocks depicting Sanskrit Tibetan prayers and flying horses? You can still see some of these trea- sures on display, yet the tinny loud speakers used by shouting Chinese merchants and the annoying blast of Asian pop music is turning the magic and the mystery of the Barkhor into a tasteless mall. ofl Exclusive: Image and text selections from Art Perry’s forthcoming book The Tibetans: Photographs The Tibetan landscape is a place of barren nothingness. It is a nihilistic stage that attempts to burn or blow away all life. To quote a Tibetan saying: it is a place for no man or no dog. Virtually treeless, Tibet survives under a blistering light that etches everything with a heightened clarity and hyper-reality, as if the atmosphere itself had been torched away. COVER spring 1998 / plonet of the arts 13 ofthe subjects head in relation to the positioning the ky (heaven and toning his prints inorder to sive thie subjects 3 tangible aur. ‘Most of the elements of this aesthetic are noticeably absent from Borges portraiture in ‘other “culturally threstened” locations. An exam ple of his portraiture from Ethiopia is eprinted at the top ofthe opposite page. The dference leaves us entertaining nasty speculations about what basis the photographer could posibly have orp resent Tibetans as pseudo-celebrities and Ethiopians as fantastically exotic oddities The importance to Borges ofthe global power ‘of his nation relates to his marketing strategy and the dsrbution network for his prints licntele and books isthe commercial gallery system. To the person who can drop a few hundred dollars unhestatinglyon Borges photographic print of Tibetan pscud-celebrity, the purchase vindictes international social justice, 9 terrain developed ‘over the years by non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and PEN, What does this have t0 do with the global power ofthe United States of America? The con nection i the professional lobbying industry that ugh his gllery-based_ photographic entrepreneurial: ‘connects Borges and the cash he collects th iam, on the one hand, with the power of money to ‘ain access and influence inthe corridos of exe "tv and egsative power in Washington DC. on the other, The charactersically United Statesin maxim that seems tobe at work her i iy have posse, use it and dont question it you need power oF anything ese for that mater, uy it. Buy Borges Print therefore, and your fnancal contribution will wend its say to Capitol Hill eee i wil prompt voices such a that of ultr-conserative Republican senator Jesse Helms to. berate President Clinton for not tng tough on China in regard to Tibet. To be fur about who i targeted by pro-Tibet lobbyists in Washington, the Fee Tibet message i also voiced by liberal Democrats The strain of antiCommunism in Borges turns up'in his poltial history of Tibet-China relations: “Invaded by Chinese forces under Mao. Tye-Tung in 949, China's occupation to this day Tibet has remained under In fact, the fll scale invasion of Tibet bythe People’s Liberation Army did not occur until 95. Borges choice of dates and his simp recalls the United Statesian world view under tion of politcal history senhower when Chinas joining the USSR as a clear “red menace” made the world a dangerous place for United Statesian liberty. What Borges fils to mention is United Statesian (and British) acceptance of Chinese politcal claims over Tibet, Sukhwinder Kou Beis, art hor, Doansah ihr Jeginder Chop GOOD LUCK FROM LUCKY on your big, big plans for the future! prior to 1943, and its acquiescence to superpower ‘occupation in so-called spheres of influence, the CIA coup of 954 in Guatemala. Rather than aiming for balance, Borges restricts himself to certain. characteristclly United Statesan themes ~ rights, individualism, 2 wold order monitored by the United States. He chooses not t formulate his work in relation to conceens such as fires, balance, depth; coher. ence and critical self cvauation. There sno pat oie daty to do so. There is pressure to sell books, however, a pre sure which, a was noted above, inducss moder tion. From an ideological perspective, this tends to he viewed as furifcatio, Borges frzfes the hardcore United Statsin politial-consiutional slant to his ibstan pho tographs by construing his images as iver religious ions. Religion and politi do mix, of ‘ours, especially inthe United S ‘constitutional separation there between Church and State. Nonetheless, the pretext that Borges Tibetan porteits are “spiritual” functions 38a low ‘order disclaimer of their ootedness in Borges politics A second concit that allows Borges to feign the tance of politcal innocence sto leave a lnge and important part of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama provides a poli 3 writing in his book to cal angle via his Five Point Peace Plan, and his ‘other quotes havea gentle tone that seems to rein force the claim of Borge? universtsm and non partisanship A third technique sed by Borges to diminish the obviousness of his politics ste use bref pho: tographic captions. Space limitations (whose self imposed and politically convenient nature are probably are meant t0 be ‘overlooked by the reader) restrict the Photographer's opportunity for polit cal analysis to identification with {abloid-type dart of who are the good auys (the Tibetans) and who are the bad gus (the Chines) Galen Rowell’ big idea in My Tibet is to turn the entire Central Asian county into @ nature sanctuary. It ‘would be Yosemite writextra lage and extra bold. Obviously there would be sno place in this park for Liberation Army soldiers and so they ‘would have wo go back to wherever they The politcal idea that sems to capain Rowell proposal is that super power nations sch as the United States and China have sinetoned demilita rized none into existence previously, eg between the two Koreas. Thus perhaps realpolitik can allow the flowers to blossom again, ast wer, in Tibet. eis extremely unlikely that realpolitik will ever convert Tibet into a huge Yosemite in Cente Asia, Disegarding this fact, Rowelofes us a book intended to hasten into existence the Big Tibetan Pack scenario by bridging the ecology move ‘ment and advocacy for a Free Tibet, There is an innate affinity, Rowell ass ng tide between Tibetan Buddhism and environmentalism, and between them a which Rowell may have expected would bode well for sles of My Tibet Rowell politic ar fuzzy enough from the outst that he fas litle if of popular enthusiasm Rowell smothers his readers’ intelligence with niceness and prettiness. Chinese colonial authorities in the context of an economic development plan that any ideological pride to swallow or ‘otherwise conceal in his quest for wide commercial appeal. My Tibet (the* my” pertains tothe Dali Lama, not Rowell is filed with landscape and wildlife photographs printed in splashy colour on oversized pages in the gente of the coffe-able book. We are told that these images were gath ‘red during four trips to Tibet in the 1980s on behalf of | National Geographic Mogazine. These trips scem to have been welcomed by the used member of the Western me to cultivate the touristic apealof Tibet Royell’s book isan act of recycling images he produced inthe manner and for the purposes of the Intemational Siyle Travelogue aesthetic are recuperate asthe ‘colourful framework that showcases six esays by the Dalai Lam on subjects such as peace environmentalism and compassion, The cat ofthis recycling sa reflection ofthe political nspidnes ofthese images in terms oftheir failure to represent the workings of colonial authority and the poi. ical subjoation that characterizes contemporary Tibet. This very isipidness infects My Tibet, which the reader can teat sitle more than a picture book that happens to contain esoteric and hence easly disregarded writing bya celebrity guest author ch ofthe ad ty of hasan method: the Bees, these hardcore ims reside stepped by eaer shoppers ond foster, sling Audits. Soe of the yong set chs ek therouneon he ble are digit fe pe. flew ave pad ts hove chien d thee proyers The sips are the Sober oe chung tes tare nd more osibtan tl oe op tel ogy aos pf of rce an cute Fah pte pete ‘tempt to stip ery oy Teton Hest from reeatinunie nt Steed nksncreted AEs Wks depicting Sons Mten prey fhe? ou con stilate seme af thee tee temples raring and ending ot the to Ie ‘Hone incense Srerin nt of the khang tat ‘pil roma ards of jomperameke eres the sts endl, et the tn led speshers wed Shensgere in fot of he temple ony wep: by shouting ete merchants end te meg fers do the entre route pronoting themaees of fen pop mics tring the mei nd Ser and over eg ftenpatected wth evel the msteryof the aber ne tesees el Pon Exclusive: tmage and text selections from ft Pery’s frthcoming The Tibetans: Photographs