12 planet of the arts / spring 1998 COVER for peace of mind in favour of defending that culture — to rescue good collective karma in this life even if it means getting bumped down the karmic ladder in one’s next personal reincarnation? These issues are not acknowledged by the uncompromisingly pacifist position articulated by the Dalai Lama. Nor are we aware whether these moral issues and their political ramifications have been debated by the Tibetan government-in-exile. Moreover, it is unclear whether the Dalai Lama claims the political prerogative to have the final word on such matters or what sort of place the democratic will of the Tibetan people would have in any deliberation on political action to resist the Chinese occupation. In the background of this set of uncomfortable issues is the hierarchical, monastery-based system of traditional governance in Tibetan society which followed the political practice of hand-picking office holders rather than electing them through democratic suffrage. A photographer concerned about helping to turn the tide on the Tibetan ethno- cide is faced with reconciling the need to defer to the Dalai Lama’s record of decisions about how to resist the Chinese occupation, on the one hand, with Western, non- Buddhist expertise, on the other hand, regarding the messy business of lobbying politicians to use the machinery of government and economic blackmail in order to bring the Chinese government to the bargaining table in a mood of compromise. The Buddhist stance of giving priority to learning from oppression as a way to move one’s spirit further along the path of reincarnation and enlightenment is quite plainly a non-starter for a Western politician being asked to consider whether his or her government should rattle the sabre of international diplomacy or jingle the lucre of international trade. To sell the case of Tibet to political decision-makers in the West, a concerned pho- tographer very likely has to validate a place for political intervention and activism that is not articulated by the Dalai Lama or Buddhism. HOOP #3: The International Style Travelogue A contradictory pressure relative to deferring to the Dalai Lama in selling the case of Tibet as a concerned photographer stems from the long standing, and deep attrac- pon arriving in Lhasa, I had heard that Ganden was located on one of the most breath-taking ridges in all of Tibet. But, when I tried to get a driver to take me there, I was told that I needed to be with an official tour group. In Tibet’s monaster- ies, official tours often mean that visitors are programmed to meet only Chinese-indoctrinated monks. No free discussion is allowed with Tibetan monks who might gain foreign sympathy. Trying to get to Ganden on my own, as an individual travel- er, I would be turned back at the roadblocks by the Chinese police. Yet one Tibetan driver said he was willing to pick me up before sunrise in the hope of beating the early morning roadblocks. It was a risky gamble that he wanted to try. I agreed to the plan. It was a beautifully clear and cold October morning in 1995 when we started the forty-kilo- meter drive from Lhasa to Ganden. Mike from Munich, a German solar engineer staying at my hotel came along to share the cost of the ride. Also, he liked the adventure of trying to beat the roadblocks. He had recently returned from Borneo and now wanted to make it to Mount Kailash in the far west of Tibet to walk around its base in the hope of purging all his sins. As the sun topped the mountains and we drove along the Kyi Chu River, a wonderful pink light was caught in the rising mist coming off the water. Then, suddenly, our driver frantically motioned for us to lie on the floor of the Jeep. A roadblock was dead ahead. I fell to the floor, pushing my face and shoulder into my cam- era bag. The Jeep slowed and I heard the driver’s window roll down, he said a few words, then with- out coming to a complete stop we were off again. Within seconds the driver was laughing loudly and thumping his fist triumphantly against the steer- ing wheel. He had outwitted the Chinese police. PoA Exclusive: tmage and text selections from Art Perry’s forthcoming book The Tibetans: Photographs Monk on Monastery Rooftop, Tikse Monastery, Ladakh, India, 1997. This is one of two monks who performed a prayer at six o'clock in the morning on the roof of Tikse Monastery. Blowing their conch shell horns, the monks send their prayer out over the Indus River towards the distant snow- capped mountains Tikse is a five hundred-year-old monastery set high on a craggy cliff. Its twelve- storey facade protects Tikse’s ten inner temples T. and G. Baldizzone, Buddhist monk performing dance with sword that metaphorically cuts the knots of ignorance and egoism, 1994. tion of the Western public to the drama and exoti- cism offered through the travelogue. The travelogue responds to the interest people have in a device through which they can project themselves into an unfamiliar, distant setting; sim- ulating the experience of being in a faraway place serves as a basis to evaluate the personal benefit of spending time and money to travel there. The comprehensiveness and depth sought from a travelogue can be simulated by the panoramic scene and the close-up photograph — the viewer is offered a wider spatial vista or social scenario, and more detail, than is avail- able via unmediated eye sight or that would likely be found through unguid- ed travel. These photographic capabili- ties have fed the belief that photo- graphic images that magnify and com- press ordinary visual experience reveal more truth than images that more closely replicate ordinary human visu- al experience. Alongside having to contend with the Western appetite for travelogue imagery, the concerned photographer must contend with the political utility to Tibet’s colonial masters of the trav- elogue aesthetic. From the pretty pic- tures in Chinese-sanctioned publica- tions on Tibet of landscapes, buildings and colourful costumes, you might be able to guess that tourism constitutes a very large part of the new Tibetan economy. You would not be able to tell that- law enforcement constitutes an even larger part. For an example of an officially- sanctioned travelogue, readers can Anduo Tibetan Snowfield (Gansu Nationality Publishing House, 1994). There is an interesting historical con- trast between this rather slick mono- graph and the clumsy, staged qualities of an officially-rendered representa- tion of colonized Tibet from twenty years earlier. Tibet Today (Beijing Foreign Language Press, 1974) describes Tibet as having been liberat- ed by the PLA from a feudal, cannibal- istic past. Evidence that the “region” is on the high road to international socialism is provided by new factories, land recently brought under cultiva- tion, ever-helpful PLA soldiers, and Tibetans smiling at virtually every task of daily living. There is a convergence between the needs of the colonial regime and the agenda of Western travelogue authors to keep the apparatus of colonial dom- ination out of the picture. In terms of consumer dollars and book buyers’ refer to Chen Zhitao’s Information of attention, the travelogue provides very strong com- petition against a book of concerned photography about a foreign culture under colonial servitude. =— D> = United Statesian Imaginings: Big Sticks, Big Cameras, Big Parks, Big Money Each of the four books under consideration in our discussion frames its author’s political concern for the Tibetans and their culture in a particular way but there are affinities that tend to group them along the lines of their author’s culture of origin. The sound level at which each author pitches his case seems to be one of the affinities that draws together Perry and Harris, the two Canadians, and distinguishes them from their United Statesian counterparts, Borges and Rowell. The Canadian authors maintain a quieter tone. There are other more telling differences and similarities in how these authors imagine freedom for Tibet. We are now in a position to describe and assess these. : For Phil Borges, Tibet is “an epic human rights struggle.” Borges seems to have in mind a concept of rights that stems from his having repeated from an early age that the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are self-evident — and that the United States of America is the greatest nation in history. Borges is someone for whom the United Statesian Dream is a reality: he acquired fame as a photographer and fortune in his previous career straightening teeth. His photographic project about the struggle of the Tibetans reflects the pride of a patriotic citizen of the United States. This pride informs the political agenda Borges sells through Tibetan Portrait, The Power of Compassion, an agenda that includes: triumphal- ism regarding United States cultural values (notably individual rights); interpreting world affairs through the perspective of the global power wielded by the United Statesian government, and; anti-Communism. Taking these in order, one sees in Borges’ Tibetan portraiture an “individual greatness” aesthetic that resonates with the Hollywood- driven cult of celebrity. Borges’ visual strategies to render his subjects into pseudo-celebrities include: the close proximity of the subject to the camera, and his or her direct gaze into it, in order to create a sense of elevation over the. viewer; the metonymy between the subject’s physical being and the (eternal) mountains in the background; 42 planet of the arts / spring 1998 COVER for peace of mind in fayour of defending that culture ~ to rescue good caletive ‘arma in this ie even it mcans getting bumped down the karmic ladder in one’s seat personal incarnation? These iases are not acknowledged by the uncompromising pacifist position political ramifications have beon debated. by the Tibetan guvernment-in:eile Morcover, its unclear whether the Dalai Lama claims the political prerogative to have the inal word on sich matters o what sort of place the democratic wil af the Tibetan people would have in any deliberation on politcal action to resist the Chinese occupation, In the background of this set of uncomfortable sues is the hierarchical monastery. based system of tradiional governance in Tibetan society which allowed the politcal practice of hand-pickng office holders rather than electing. them ‘through democratic sutags A pho ‘ides faced with reconciling the ned o defer to the Dalai Lama's record apr concerned about helping to turn the ide on the Tibstan eth ahout how t0 ress the Chinese occupation, on the one hand, with Western, non Buddhist expertise, the other hand, regarding the messy business of lobbying Politicians to use the machinery of government an evonomic blackmail inorder bring the Chinese government the bargaining table in mood of compromise The Buddhist stance of giving priority to lesrning from oppression asa way ‘move one spirit further along the pat of reincarnation and enlightenment is quite Plainlya non-startr fora Wester politician being ake o consider whether his or her gosernment should rate the sabre of inten a diplomacy o jingle the ler ‘of imerational trade Tosell th as of Tibet to politcal decision-makers in the West a concerned pho tographer very likly has to validate a place for political intervention and activism, that snot atculated by the Dalai Lama or Buddhism HOOP #3: The International Style Travelogue A contradictory pressure relative to deferring tothe Dalai Lama in sling the case ‘of Tibet asa concerned photographer stems from the long standing, and deep attrac ther, Les tad tht T nested fo be with off In ets monester: Feqonmed to meet soy Chaee-ndnctraste oats to re aeuisin lowed with Tieton ents whe might gua eign sympathy. Tyg Sette Ganden sn ny own, aan dul orl {Twn be ted {he chinese poe. sre ming t pick me up Before sunie inthe iy ering srovonty gamble thot he wont {er wes of Tet to wok stand ite bose inthe epee prig ol his ss. the son oped the iwntas one rave lng the fC ve, © ‘nderfl pkg wes cough nthe ing mist Coming othe water then, sudden, order Trontesly motioned for us te on the far af were ff gen. ihn seconds the dn was nuhing oy sod ‘ald sctober_thompng he fist tort opis he see ‘ering 1995 when we stred the forty ineer ive from theta to eden, Mite fom PoA Exclusive: tmege and text selections from rt Peny’s forthcoming book The Tibetans: Photographs tion ofthe Western public to the drama and exo «iam offered through the travelogue, The travelogue responds tothe interest people have in a device though which they can projet themselves into an unfair, distant ettng; sim ‘lating the experince of bing in faraway place serves a bass to evalate the personal benefit of spending time and money to travel there, The comprehensiveness and depth sought 1 can be simulated by the panoramic sene and the close-up photograph the viewer i offered a wider spatial vista or socal scenario, and more deta than i avail: able via unmedated eyesight or that ‘would likely be found through unguid travel. These photographic capabili- 1 belief that photo: sraphic images that magnify and com: ties have fed press ondinary visual experience reveal ‘more truth than images that more closely replicate ordinary human al experience ‘Alongside having to contend with the Western appetite for travelogue imagery, the concerned photographer rust contend with the political uty to Tibet's colonial masters of the trav logue aesthetic. From the prety pic tues in Chinese-snetioned. publica tions on Tibet of landsapes, buildings and colourful costumes, you might be ble to gues that tourism constitutes a very large part of the new Tibetan conomy, You would not beable to tll that Lae enforcement constitutes a ven larger par. For an example of an oficial sanctioned. travelogue, readers can refer to Chen Zhito's hformation of Snowfeld (G Nationality Publishing. Hows, 194). Anduo Tibetan Ther i an interesting historical on: trast between this rather sick mono: sraph and the dumsy, staged qualities of an oficial rendered. representa tion of colonized Tibet from twenty Tibet. Today Foreign Language Press, 974) -escibes Tibet 3s having been iberat years cater Beijing ‘ed by the PLA from a feudal cannibal ine past. Evidence that the “region” is fon the high road to international socialism is provided by new lator, land recently brought under culiva tion, ever-helpfl PLA, soles, and Tibetans smiling at vitally every task of daly living Theis a convergence stcen the nial regime andthe agenda of Wester travelogue authors to keep the apparatus of colonial dom ination out of the picture In tes of consumer dollars and book buyers ‘metaphorically cuts the knot of Ignorance and ego, 1984. Buddhist monk performing dance with sword thot tention the taveloge provides very stong om Petition aginst a book of concerned photography shout a foreign culture under colonial servitude =-2- United Statesian Imaginings: Big Sticks, Big Cameras, Big Parks, Big Money ach ofthe four books under consideration in ‘our discussion frames its author's political eancern for the Tibetans and thee culture in a particular way but ther are affinities that edt group them along the lines oftheir autho’ culture of origi, The sound level at which each author itches hiscaseseems tobe one ofthe affinities that draws together Pery and Harris the two Canadians and distinguishes them from their United Statesian counterparts, Borges and Rowell, The Canadian authors maintain a quieter tone There ate other more telling differences and similarities in how these authors imagine freedom for Tibet. Weare now ina position to describe and asses these, For Phil Borges, Tibets“an epichuman rights struggle” Borges sem to have. mind a concept ‘of rights that stems from his having sepeated feom an early age thatthe rights to if iberty and the pursuit of happiness ate sclEevident ~ and thatthe U ted States of America isthe gretest nation in history. Stateian Dream i reality: he acquired fame asa Photographer and fortune Borges is someone for whom the Unit ghtening teeth. His photographic project about the strugle of the Tibetans reflects the pride of patriotic citizen ofthe United Stats. This pride informs the politial agenda Borges sells through Compassion, an agenda that incldes: triumphal Tibetan Portrait, The Power of ism regarding United. States cultural values (notably individual rights) interpreting word air throu the perspective ofthe global power wild bythe United Statesian government, ands king these in oeder, one sees in Borg acsthetic that resonates with the Hollywond driven cul of celebrity. Borges visual strategies to render his subjects into pscudo-celebrities de the close proximity of the subject to the ‘camera, and his or her direct gave into iin onder to ecatea sense of elevation over the viewers the metonyany between the subject's physical being and the (teal) mountains in the bac