2023/10/17

Honouring Namgyal Rinpoche (b.1931) on the 20th anniversary of his passing on October 22, 2003

 


 Some remembrances about art and Namgyal Rinpoche (Ananda Bodhi), 1931-2003, by artist Henri van Bentum (1929-2022)

[Editor's Note: Back in 2015, Henri shared a few of his many experiences from his time with Rinpoche. Here he writes about Namgyal and art. I thought it would be timely to share this essay for the commemoration on the 20th anniversary of Namgyal's passing, October 22, 2003.]

Written by Henri in 2015:

"Rinpoche’s interests encompassed a 360° view on all the arts.  The Seven Muses, so to speak.  When I met him as Ananda Bodhi in late 1966, I never told him I was an artist.  Other Dharma students mentioned it to him, I guess.

 Once he knew I was an artist, he asked me about the local art scene and we had dialogues about the evolution of Art. 

The Teacher was curious and interested in everything.  His breadth of knowledge and insight included the Arts, including opera.

Being the mentor and teacher that he was, Rinpoche said “We should try to make a work of art of ourselves, not just works of art.”

Namgyal was familiar with the work of several renowned artists, but I also recall him mentioning in particular Cornelius Krieghoff, Georges Rouault, Jock Macdonald (my art mentor), Lawren Harris, and also Henri Matisse. 

 Art and Travel

When it comes to Art and travel, there are many examples of Rinpoche’s interests manifesting themselves in countless ways and encouraging us to explore.

 In the autumn of 1967, Ananda Bodhi had asked students who would be interested in joining him on a pilgrimage to India (by freighter), to put their names on a list. I was asked to find a ship for the voyage. 

A few phone calls to Europe anchored a freighter of the Ned Lloyd line of Holland (KNSM) which could carry ten passengers, sailing from western Europe in late November or early December to India.

Meanwhile, twenty-seven students had shown interest. The Teacher scaled this down to eight, plus himself and Tony Olbrecht (Sonam), his attendant. 

To get to Europe, there was only one remaining transatlantic crossing available since it was late in the season - the Russian vessel Aleksandr Pushkin - sailing from Montreal in November to Southampton. 

Freighters have unpredictable departure and arrival schedules. Ananda Bodhi had decided to sail on the Pushkin in order to arrive early in England and Europe and do some traveling there. The Atlantic crossing took nine days.

En route to our first pilgrimage in 1967 to India, Ceylon and Burma, as it was known then, we sailed across the Atlantic and spent some time in Europe before embarking on a freighter in Le Havre.

While on European soil, the Teacher suggested we travel to the prehistoric caves of Lascaux of France.  There, we had the rare privilege of a special tour with a guide, even though officially the caves were closed to the public.  Also, in Spain, at Ananda Bodhi’s suggestion, we visited the caves of Alta Mira, before embarking on a freighter to India.

Being on Your Toes

You always had to be on your toes during these trips.  We boarded the freighter (“Giessenkerk”) in Le Havre which would be sailing the next day.

 

I’d only just embarked and was looking forward to quietly exploring the vessel, operated by a Netherlands company.

Ananda Bodhi however had something else in mind: “Henri”, he said, “I want you to go the Paris right now and see the major exhibition of Henri Matisse”.  

So, of course, I obeyed, although I was a bit anxious to get back in time before the ship sailed for our lengthy voyage. 

I took in the exhibition in its entirety and reported back to the Teacher who was interested to hear all about it, and gave him the exhibition catalogue. 

Elsewhere I’ve written extensively about our voyage aboard the “Giessenkerk”, It was aboard this trip that he first asked me to give him some pointers and help with oil pastels.

At another time, back in Toronto, we also created batiks together (below is a photo of one of them). 


A large Batik wall hanging Henri van Bentum and Namgyal Rinpoche created together in 1968

3 feet x 5 feet 

Collection Natasha van Bentum


Other artist we discussed were Mondriaan, the pioneer of abstract art, and of Mondriaan’s interest in Theosophy and the Mysteries. Likewise, about my former art teacher J.W.G. (“Jock”) Macdonald.

Namgyal said most artists had lots of ‘knowing’ but were lacking in balancing this with ‘being’.    He told me Georges Braque was a better artist than Picasso, but because Braque was not a promoter of his own work (which Picasso excelled in), the world didn’t know too much about him.


One day, Rinpoche told me, “Henri, Art is your vehicle for unfolding.”

A few years later, while we were on a retreat in Morocco (1972), for the very first time Namgyal made a suggestion to me about a technique in art. 

He said I should try Pointillism because it is an excellent method for concentration, patience and meditation.

How he knew, I’ll never understand, but it turned out this technique came very naturally to me and marked a whole new era of exploration that continues to this day.

At that time, we were in Essaouira on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The winds from the Sahara brought sand everywhere, including on the artwork.

I asked permission to leave the retreat, in order to continue working in this new technique.  He consented, and so Natasha and I left for Madeira, where I completed my 100 mandalas that I named “Organiverse”.  (Which took on a life of its own, but that’s another story.)

When all 100 mandalas were finished, I returned to Morocco to show Namgyal, but he had left for Spain. None of the other students knew where he was staying. 

No matter, I found him and showed him the 100 "Organiverse" mandalas.  “I knew it!” he said, turning to Sonam, then he said again “I knew it!”





This is just one painting (#23) from the #100 set, ORGANIVERSE, 
Henri van Bentum

Watercolour pencil on paper, 8.5 cm diameter, 1972

A video of the full set of all 100 ORGANIVERSE mandalas is available here on Vimeo. 


Later, Rinpoche began to do some small abstract images, many of which found their way to Dharma bazaars or the homes of Dharma students who eagerly acquired them. Natasha and I also have a couple.

Several years ago, a large format illustrated book was published, "Unfolding Through Art - Namgyal Rinpoche", by Bodhi Publishing but is currently out of print.



I’ve written elsewhere about what an extraordinary and precious being Rinpoche was.  He was also what I call an “all rounded” man   - - he knew about art, music, poetry, sculpture, theatre, fairy tales, and of course the Western Mysteries, and was a master meditation Teacher. 

With his extraordinary travels and exploring, I called Namgyal "The Hero of a Thousand Places”.

 

Namgyal Rinpoche, Terry Hagan (partial view) and Henri van Bentum, the Philippines, 1978, with two guides


Henri van Bentum,

 Victoria, BC, 2015

& posted by Natasha van Bentum, October 2023


 

 



2023/05/27

The Deployment of Henri's Reef off the coast of Vancouver Island - Artist Henri van Bentum, 1929-2022

"Coral Fantasy", acrylic on paper, 1965 Henri van Bentum, Private Collection

In Loving Memory:  Saturday, May 27th marked the deployment of Henri’s reef into the Salish Sea off the coast of Vancouver Island, at a dive and snorkelling site located near the Ten Mile Point ecological reserve.
Thanks to the people at Living Reef Memorial, the reef was created from Henri’s cremated ashes, crushed oyster and other seashells, low alkaline cement and sand. The reef has a ceramic plaque honouring Henri.
Just some of the underwater life (*) that can be found in Spring Bay, with its cold and strong currents are: frosted nudibranch, painted anemone, pink-tipped aggregating anemone, giant plumrose anemone, shiny sea squirt, three types of chiton, plus three types of dorid (leopard, Heath and Hudson), clown nudibranch, mottled star, blood star, green urchin, red urchin, purple urchin, and three kinds of sea cucumber.  (*) For this listing, thank you to Sara Ellison, author of the newly-published "Snorkelling Adventures Around Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands".

Soon Henri’s reef will be visited and inhabited by many underwater creatures. 

For many years, Henri went on snorkelling / dive expeditions to such faraway locations as the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Indonesia. He had a great love for all creatures of the seven seas. In addition to circumnavigating the planet by ship three times, in his eighth decade Henri wrote five children’s books, three of which feature coral reefs and the sea.
In the photo above, the arrow points to the reef at the back of the boat, about to be deployed. 

I only learned about Living Reef Memorial after Henri left us to continue his journey, but I know he would have found joy in the concept of “from cremation to creation”.
Here is a photo of Henri, back in in 2017, with his first children's book, 
"King Neptune's Jewels with Fins and Tails", hot off the press


Natasha van Bentum
Henri's partner of 51 years


2023/05/26

More photos from the deployment of Henri's Reef

 

Here are some screen captures from a video by Living Reef Memorial of the deployment of Henri's Reef exactly two weeks ago, on May 27th.  

More details about the Living Reef can be found in the earlier post, published on the same day (scroll below).



The boat left from Esquimalt, en route to Ten Mile Point and the deployment site


Looking south, across Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic mountains 






Nearing Ten Mile Point 



The reef prior to deployment (Henri's plaque is on the back, not in view, see photo below)



The arrow points to the Reef about to be deployed



The ceramic plaque on Henri's Reef




Heading back home


In Loving Memory 
Henri van Bentum
1929-2002

2023/05/24

Henri was a keen Snooker player, he would have enjoyed this:

This week my quasi-spoof, quasi-serious document, called "The Society for the Protection of Snooker Tables - An Endangered Species", was hung in the Billiards Room of the historic Union Club of British Columbia.  My beloved partner of fifty-one years, artist and keen snooker player, Henri van Bentum, (1929-2022) would have enjoyed it. 

Looking towards the west wall of the Billiards Room, the red arrow shows the framed document. There are two other full-size snooker tables in the room, shown below.




A photo of the late Henri van Bentum (1929-2022), shown in action in the Billiards Room






Natasha van Bentum
July 2023


 

2023/05/05

Celebrating Light: A Journey Through the Organiverse with Works by Rabindranath Tagore ("Gitanjali") and Henri van Bentum

 As a way of introducing the Gitanjali / Organiverse project (see post of February15th ), we've linked up with the UNESCO International Day of Light 2023 to introduce one of Rabindranath Tagore's poems (#57, "Light") and one of Henri van Bentum's 'Organiverse' mandalas (#57 of #100 set). The site has a link to the full project, encompassing all 100 mandalas and 100 poems.  https://vanbentum.wixsite.com/journey





  

2023/02/15

Special Edition of "Gitanjali and Beyond" devoted to Henri van Bentum's "Organiverse" mandalas and featuring a reading of the "Gitanjali" song offerings (poems) by Rabindranath Tagore

Cover of "Gitanjali and Beyond", Issue No. 7,  Rabindranath Tagore, Henri van Bentum



Today the Scottish Centre for Tagore Studies published its annual eJournal, "Gitanjali & Beyond", devoted to a project marrying the 100 Organiverse mandalas by Henri van Bentum (1929-2022) with the 'Song Offerings' (Gitanjali) of Rabindranath Tagore. In 1913, Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "Gitanjali".

The concept and production of this project was done by Henri's friend Brian W.E. Johnson, who reads Tagore's poems.
Brian W.E. Johnson

"Slow Art" in motion --- painting, poetry, and sound. This special issue of "Gitanjali and Beyond" comprises 221 pages and is intended to be studied quietly over time.

Here is the link. 

Below is an excerpt from Dr. Bashabi Fraser's Foreword:

"When Natasha van Bentum first wrote to me about her husband, Henri van Bentum’s 100 Mandalas (created in 1972) which have been recently structured as reflections on Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali poems, I was intrigued. I asked Natasha to send me samples of this project, and she was willing to send me the entire opus of Organiverse and Gitanjali.

The compositions, completed while Henri and Natasha lived on the island of Madeira, are done in pointillism in water colour. They are intricate and intense. The idea of mandalas with their Hindu and Buddhist symbolism, signify a universal search for release from suffering, reaching out towards an unutterable joy.

. . . Henri’s mandalas, with their perfect circular pattern, encompass and visualise worlds that unfold from the first blue representation of the pondering universe and go on to explore and explode in colours that come together like the rising sun, the colours of the rainbow, unfurling petals, swirling dreams, bursting stars, crystallising shapes which are infinite in their possibilities and suggestiveness, till the final ones that speak of life’s fulfilment reflected in the image of the rising sun, meditative and expectant in its promise of life’s continuity.

. . . Henri’s positive approach to life in spite of the many obstacles he encountered, his courage and success are apparent in these mandalas which defeat the idea of chaos with their cosmic energy that is both transformative and transporting. They represent life itself in its many manifestations and speak directly to the viewer with an appeal that is mesmerising.

    There is something sacred about their affirmation and celebration of life, a sense of inclusion that is compelling."


Organiverse mandala 23 of 100, Henri van Bentum
Watercolour on paper, 1972
Copyright (C) Estate of Henri van Bentum 


LINK TO FOREWORD AND THE FULL PROJECT: https://gitanjaliandbeyond.co.uk/2023/02/15/gitanjali-and-beyond-issue-7-special-issue-organiverse/