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Natsag Gankyuhag: Mongolian Artist

Artist Natsag Gankyuhag was born in Ulan Batar in. From the early years in communist controlled Mongolia through his nomadic travels while becoming a successful international artist, to his life in America where he is raising a family and coming to understand what it means to be a global citizen and ambassador of art and culture of peace for Mongolia, and the world.

Ganna, as he is called by his friends, felt from early on that his art must express something positive, something peaceful, something natural and true. He created a signature that was of his thumb holding a brush and the fingers were the feathers of a dove of peace. One of the first steps he took as a young artist was to enter a competition to see who could design the best image for world peace. Mongolia was controlled by the communist regime in the Soviet Union in those days. So even though he grew up in the shadow of a foreign regime his deep intuition and prodigious talent was recognized and he won first place in this and other competitions. Still this early taste of success was just the beginning. Mongolia emerged as an independent democratic nation through a peaceful revolution and transfer of power in the early 1990’s during Perestroika. Ganna and his generation of young artists were now encouraged and given many new opportunities and freedom to travel to the outside Mongolia sharing his cultural heritage and his artistic vision of peace.

This first big opportunity came soon after he began studying more deeply about Buddhism. Which helped focused his understanding of peace through art by making representations of the enlightened body, speech and mind of the Buddha. The path to peace within and with the world around him. This first big artistic commission came when Danzen Haivzun Samayev, who was visiting Mongolia personally requested Ganna to build the main statue of the Buddha in his temple. This was in 1993-19944. Ganna went to St. Petersburg, Russia and created a five meter tall Golden Buddha statue to reconsecrate a historic Gunzeichoinei Buddhist Temple. This was significant because it was the first Buddhist temple built in Russia by the last Mongolian Buddhist ruler in 1910. This was Gannas homage to the body aspect of the Enlightened One, Shakyamuni Buddha. Which gave him a new level of positive karmic energy or merit and confidence in this path toward peace as an artist and Buddhist.

Then over the next decade he studied the words or speech of the Buddhas in order to better understand and properly create the “Khuree Tsam” masks known as the one hundred deities. So he set out to recreate the traditional masks that portray the one hundred peaceful and wrathful deities of the Buddhist pantheon. These are called Khuree Tsam and are used for sacred ritual dances of pacification, protection and blessings of abundance and enlightened activity. These had been suppressed under communism for 70 years. So it was with great humility and sense of urgency with which he worked. Each paper mache mask could take up to a month to compete in all of its complexity. Each of these deities represents archetypal energies of human psyche and consciousness. They need to be understood if one is to reach deeper levels of peace in their mind and compassion in their hearts in order to guide and benefit others. This was Ganna’s practice and lifes work. But he didn't do this alone, many of his students joined with him and dedicated themselves to this great Mongolian cultural renaissance which they took on tour to Europe, Asia and the USA. The exhibits and performances where greeted with great interest and appreciation and this has been a wonderful success and has continued to build Ganna’s reputation and network of friends and institutional contacts around the world. Ganna is inspired and deeply connected to the spirit of Ghengis Khan, which H.H. The Dalai Lama has advised the people of Mongolia in general and Ganna in particular, that they must focus on bringing education and technology to develop and inspire and the world. As karma would have it Ganna would play a pivotal role in the creation of the “Ghengis Khan and The Mongol Empire.” exhibition which would tour the USA and Asia and bring together many scholars research and rare artifacts to the larger public. It has presented fresh and compelling evidence that the familiar Eurocentric history of The Great Khans genius as one of not only military conquest. When in fact his greater legacy was of innovating many of the arts of peaceful statecraft and cultural diplomacy that flourished across his empire for centuries. This level of success and pride felt for Ganna’s activities are shared by those who know and work with him. As Robert Thurman one of the leading authorities on Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist Culture in America so aptly acknowledged, Ganna as “National Treasure for Mongolia and the World” This was a great honor and achievement.

Ganna has lived through so much history and change in Mongolia. Traditionally in Mongolia it is the Buddhas teachings that they turn to for spiritual education. Their earliest ancestors were shamans and nomadic herdsman and warriors but when the Great Khans settled down to rule their vast empire that spreads across Asia and into Russia and Europe they embraced the Dharma brought from India to Tibet and the Himalayas. The name “Dalai” means “Ocean” in Mongolian and the present day world revered peace leader H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama was born into a small farming village close to the Mongolian border. Ganna has dedicated his life to understanding and living the Buddhas teachings through making art that expresses what the enlightened mind has seen and experienced. He has done this as an artist and a modern person a father and a mentor to many young artists.

Then in 2001   he built a monument to the innermost essence of the the Buddhas transcendent mind. This is a three dimensional mandala that simultaneously represents the universe in its visceral and abstract formulation in complex yet perfect harmony. It is called a Stupa and this is what the elders from Mongolia also dearly wished for him to create in the countryside of his homeland so they could venerate and meditate and share in the glory of this powerful mystical experience of peace in their own day to day lives just as their ancestors had done for generations before. This would be traditional but also unique. Its design would be carved of granite with a seated Buddha figure on one side and the stupa on the other. It would be filled inside with all the precious natural and dharma objects and images that could be collected and donated by patrons and friends and revered monks and Lamas. It would be placed out on the wide open countryside with just the sky and distant mountains as a backdrop. This would be the way Ganna would further establish his wish for peace. Standing together with his extended family and friends, the elders and the children beneath the vast blue sky of his homeland. This made him very happy.

No he is organizing to build a larger place dedicated for World Peace and Art so everyone regardless of background or belief system can come and connect with their heart and their own unique heritage and culture of peace. This is not just for Buddhists or Mongolians he often repeats. This is for everyone in the world. We all need peace and can appreciate the urgency for finding a place of refuge from the rush and stress of modern life. A place that sparks the imagination like Khublai Khans great palace at Xanadu that was at the crossroads along the silk roads centuries before. The World Peace Art Center and World Peace Pagoda will be a destination for the tourist and artist alike. With state of the art facilities and studios and exhibition and performance spaces. It will preserve and pass on traditional Arts and explore innovative technology of our new digital cyber universe. It will have workshops and educational programs with something for everyone. The casual hobbyist or the dedicated artisan. It will have an archive collection of World Peace Artists. All focused on the sacred arts and understanding of peace and its expression and implementation for a diverse contemporary global audience. This is Ganna’s vision for the future that he is dedicating his lifes work toward. “Now is the time!” “Now we must make our dream a reality.” “For ourselves for our world. Inner peace and outer harmony bringing art and technology together to protect and preserve its sacred wisdom culture and educate future generations in a pristine natural environment.” “We can all sign our names to that with our own unique vision and path of peace and discover that we are all an important part of something so much bigger and more precious than we ever imagined. Now in our lifetimes we will see this vision of peace!” For more information on how you can get involved and contribute to the World Peace Art Center and World Peace Pagoda visit www.