30r364 boek.qxd:awards book 11 - Prince Claus Fund

Venerable PurevbatMongoliaVenerable Purevbat (b. 1960s, Tov Aimag) is an outstanding artist and teacher of the VajrayanaBuddhist tradition. After graduating in art, Purevbat began specialised study of Buddhistaesthetics, travelling to India and Nepal to research iconography and iconometry. His scholarlydiscipline ensures conformity to essential rules but he is also a great innovator, adding moderninfluences and practices, creating a distinctive style and a dynamic art form.Committed to reviving the traditions of Buddhism that had been virtually wiped out in Mongolia,Purevbat founded a school to train artists and teachers in disciplines such as painting, sculpting,appliqué, architecture and dance. He established the Zanabazar Mongolian Institute of BuddhistArt, which mounts exhibitions, documents historical sites, and undertakes restoration projectsand the re-introduction of festivals. He initiated a masters course for graduates, speaks onradio and television, and is writing a 23-volume series on Buddhist art theories and techniques.Purevbat’s fine artworks, inspirational activities and dissemination of knowledge have createda renaissance in Mongolian cultural identity and timely self-affirmation.Artist and scholar, Venerable Purevbat is honoured for the rigorous authenticity of hismethods and techniques, for re-establishing an important ‘un-modern’ aesthetic practice, forhis dedication and generosity in fostering future generations, and for nurturing local identitythrough artistic tradition and culture.[from the 2008 Prince Claus Awards Jury Report]Culture and the Human Body69