Marcos Stafne and I received a warm welcome at the Borough of Manhattan Community College last Thursday when we stopped by BMCC’s beautiful campus to donate a selection of Rubin Museum catalogs to the college’s library. The book reception, organized and promoted by Lane Glisson, Faculty Librarian, not only celebrated the addition of new titles to their library’s shelves but also provided an opportunity to promote our institutional partnership among faculty and administrators at BMCC.
BMCC entrance - photo by Louis Chan
Savoring cupcakes and catalogs
The book reception, held in the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (CETLS), provided the opportunity for fifteen professors from diverse departments—English, Fine Art, Sociology, Developmental Skills—to see the catalogs, explore possible curricular connections, and learn about the benefits of our institutional partnership with BMCC.
Our catalog gifts included: Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet and Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting by David Jackson; Worlds of Transformation by Marilyn Rhie and Robert Thurman; Bon: The Magic Word: The Indigenous Religion of Tibet edited by Samten Karmay and Jeff Watt; Victorious Ones: Jain Images of Perfection by Phyllis Granoff; Buddha in Paradise: A Celebration in Himalayan Art by Glenn Mullin; Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond by Robert Linrothe and Marilyn Rhie.
Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism
Martin Brauen’s Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism, is a favorite among faculty teaching courses on Tibetan Buddhism, Psychology, Anthropology, and Fine Art.
Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond
Robert Linrothe and Marilyn Rhie’s Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond is popular among college students who are fascinated to learn that when the energies of anger, hate, and lust are skillfully engaged, they can serve as catalysts for positive transformation.
We hope the museum’s catalogs will encourage BMCC faculty and students to delve deeply into the sacred traditions and cultures of the Himalayas, and that these explorations will inspire them to visit us at the museum. Thanks to our institutional partnership, all BMCC faculty, students, and staff can visit the museum for free.
Many thanks to Joanna Bevacqua and Phyllis Niles who baked delicious cupcakes and other treats for the reception.