The life of a painting after the end of (this) life: Agentive images as relationship participants

Abstract

The skyes sgo thangka, or “thangka for rebirth,” is a genre of Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting made for the recently deceased, in this instance a member of the artist’s own family in Rebgong, a Tibetan community in northwest China. Encounters in Rebgong indicate that we need to look beyond the direct interaction between the agentive image and human actors to understand how the painting works. By examining Rebgong art makers’ understandings and practices associated with the production and use of skyes sgo thangkas, I suggest viewing agentive images as relationship participants and exploring how personal relationships and social conditions intertwine with the life of “icons.” In Rebgong, the skyes sgo image not only assists funeral rites or contains personal/familial memories, it is also an anchor for thangka painters to understand, reconcile, and organize relationship changes and to reinforce the religious value of Tibetan thangka in a rapidly commercializing society.