Khmer Art: LA Times

Art review: 'Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia' at
the J. Paul Getty Museum
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March 13, 2011 | 3:30 pm
At the J. Paul Getty Museum, "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum
of Cambodia" is a very small show on a very large subject. For a viewer, its
primary achievement is to make you want to see more.

The Khmer Empire was born in 802, when a Hindu monarch, Jayavarman II, declared
himself a god and established his seat of power in Angkor in the northern
reaches of what is today Cambodia. The city grew to be immense, among the
largest cities in the world, with a sphere of influence that encompassed a large
chunk of modern-day Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The
empire lasted more than 600 years -- nearly until the birth of Columbus.

Say the word Khmer today, however, and visions of horrific crimes against
humanity perpetrated in the 1970s civil war by the brutal Communist leader Pol
Pot still linger. "Gods of Angkor" evokes an entirely different world.

Among the show's most impressive works is a 12th-century "Crowned Buddha," with
upper arms held close to the ramrod-straight torso, forearms raised forward from
the body and open palms held up. Even to the uninitiated, this formal, highly
ritualized pose presents a thoroughly unprotected gesture that demonstrably
offers peace.

Nearly 3 feet tall, the cast-bronze sculpture is less ornate than a Chinese
counterpart might be. Still, the exquisite ornamentation sets the figure apart
from an everyday human being. Erect and symmetrical, its head, throat and waist
encircled with elaborately modeled jewelry, the serenely smiling Buddha speaks
of dignity, eternity and unostentatious majesty. A human form assumes an
otherworldly presence.

Khmer sculpture registers as an obviously complex subject -- produced over half
a millennium, influenced by powerful crosscurrents from India and China and
responding to compelling varieties of Hindu, Buddhist and secular forces. Also
complex is the treacherous process of lost-wax casting in bronze. The
technically arduous method can result in sleek objects with a spirit very
different, and often more elegant and stately, than the carved sandstone Khmer
sculpture that is more commonly encountered.

Typical, however, and evident in the majority of the show's sculptures, is the
straight, columnar modeling of the figures' legs. Feet face forward and are
separated in a firm stance that conveys stability more than rigidity. It's
unusual for a divine Khmer sculpture to stand in a posture that reveals the
slightest sense of ordinary bodily relaxation.

Any one of the many technical demands of bronze casting is unlikely to explain
this standard design. Instead, it draws a subtle distinction between a mundane
person, who would not be memorialized in expensive bronze, and a deity who
warrants such noble and enduring treatment. It's almost as if the formality of
the deity's posture creates a portal to another dimension.