An exhibition at the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne fundamentally challenges conventional perceptions of art, asserting that the objects on display were never intended solely for passive observation. Titled "Living Images," and meticulously curated by Petra Rösch, the museum’s curator of Korean and Buddhist art, the exhibition draws together a compelling collection of ritual paintings, sculptures, and calligraphy from China, Japan, and Korea, predominantly dating from the medieval period. The exhibition’s core argument is to illuminate the vibrant life these devotional objects possess before and after their public exhibition – encompassing the consecrations, offerings, and ceremonies that imbue them with a spiritual significance far beyond mere aesthetic appreciation.
The Korean Rite of Consecration: Breathing Life into Sacred Objects
Central to the exhibition’s narrative is the Korean ritual known as Bulbokjang Jakbeop, which translates approximately to "enshrining objects in a Buddhist image." This profound practice underscores the exhibition’s thesis that these artifacts are not static entities but dynamic participants in spiritual traditions. On May 17, 2025, a significant event took place within the museum’s final gallery: Venerable Gyeongam, a distinguished monk of the Jogye Order and an officially recognized successor in this sacred ritual tradition, was designated South Korea’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 139. He, along with nine other monks, performed a consecration ceremony on a facsimile of the Sermon of Buddha Shakyamuni at Vulture Peak Mountain. The original, an anonymously painted hanging scroll from 1729, is a treasured artifact housed at Haein-sa, one of Korea’s most venerable temples. Haein-sa is also famously the repository of the Tripitaka Koreana, an unparalleled collection of Buddhist scriptures carved onto over 80,000 wooden blocks, representing a monumental achievement in East Asian Buddhist scholarship and preservation.
The purpose of the Bulbokjang Jakbeop ritual is to transform a mere image into a potent object of worship. It is a process designed to infuse the artwork with spiritual life, enabling it to function as an official and sanctified focal point for devotion, rather than simply a representational depiction. In the context of the exhibition, the facsimile depicted a richly detailed celestial assembly, arranged in an almost symmetrical hierarchy around a robed Buddha Shakyamuni seated cross-legged at its heart. During the ceremony, Venerable Gyeongam observed the five cardinal directions, a customary practice in Buddhist rituals, and carefully placed medicines, fragrant substances, sacred texts, and relics into a specially prepared consecration bag. This bag, a personal offering from Venerable Gyeongam to the museum, is now prominently displayed within the exhibition. Its modest size and near-paper-thin construction, coupled with its fabric dyed in subtle shades of violet, pink, and yellow adorned with floral and celestial patterns, offer a tangible testament to the ritual’s meticulous nature.
A Curatorial Vision: The Museum’s Architectural and Artistic Setting
"Living Images" occupies two interconnected galleries within the Museum of East Asian Art. The museum itself is a notable architectural work, designed by the renowned Japanese architect Kunio Maekawa and situated beside the tranquil Aachener Weiher, an inner-city lake in Cologne. The surrounding Japanese garden, a creation of sculptor Masayuki Nagare, provides a serene and contemplative atmosphere that complements the exhibition’s thematic focus.
Near the exhibition’s entrance, a silk gauze rakusu, belonging to a Meiji-era (1868-1912) Zen Buddhist monk, subtly echoes the significance of the Korean consecration bag. Both objects, characterized by their spare and minimalist aesthetic, possess a quiet luminescence derived from their materials and their historical association with dedicated spiritual practice.
The Journey Begins: The Buddha’s Entry into Complete Nirvana
The exhibition commences with a striking hanging scroll, Buddha’s Entry into Complete Nirvana, a masterpiece from Japan’s Nanbokucho period (1336-1392). Created around 1392 by an anonymous artist, this work, rendered in ink, color, and gold on silk, depicts the historical Buddha Shakyamuni’s passing. The scene is a powerful evocation of grief and transcendence, with the Buddha’s reclining form surrounded by a multitude of figures: gods, humans, bodhisattvas, animals, hungry ghosts, and demons, all united in their sorrow. Above, his mother, Maya, observes from a cloud, beneath withering sala trees, a poignant visual metaphor for impermanence. The composition bears a remarkable resemblance to Byzantine depictions of the Dormition of the Virgin, capturing a universal human experience of loss and the profound act of letting go, a concept central to Buddhist teachings on achieving parinirvana.
Paintings of this nature were not merely art objects in Japanese temples; they were actively venerated. Displayed annually on the fifteenth day of the second lunar month to commemorate the Buddha’s death, they served as focal points for remembrance and contemplation. The legacy of these objects extends to the museum’s founders, Adolf and Frieda Fischer. Adolf Fischer passed away in 1914, shortly after the museum’s inauguration. Frieda Fischer, who remarried a Jewish jurist in 1921, faced significant peril under the Nazi regime due to her marriage. Her tenure as museum director, a pioneering role for a woman in Germany, was terminated in 1937. She died in December 1945. Their names are now inscribed together beneath many of the works featured in "Living Images," a testament to their enduring connection to the museum and its collection.
Sculptural Devotion: Embodied Asceticism and Wisdom
Curator Petra Rösch’s thoughtful arrangement allows the artworks ample space to command attention, fostering a contemplative atmosphere akin to the deliberate pace at which a devotional object is traditionally approached. Following the initial paintings, the exhibition transitions to a series of figurative sculptures crafted from wood and stone. The lifelike rendering of their faces mirrors the intensity of the ascetics they portray—individuals who dedicated themselves to long periods of rigorous practice, their very presence anchoring them to the earth.
A particularly arresting sculpture is the Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha (known as Jizo Bosatsu in Japanese), attributed to an anonymous artist from Japan’s Kamakura period (1185-1333), circa 1300. This figure stands with the stillness of a sentinel. Its surface, composed of hinoki wood with layers of applied coatings that have aged over time, resembles weathered skin. Despite the patina of age, the figure’s gaze retains an unworn placidity as it looks directly ahead, engaging with a gathering of seven wise men. This series of sculptures, titled Seven of the Group of Eighteen Luohan, exhibits a similar quality of individualized presence. Crafted in China during the Song dynasty (960-1279), each face is rendered with such expressive detail that they appear to have been carved from life, conveying profound emotion and a remarkable resilience to the passage of time.
The term Luohan refers to arhats, disciples of the Buddha who have attained liberation. In the subdued lighting of Rösch’s installation, it is easy to envision these sculptures once gracing the interiors of cave temples, reminiscent of the Feilai Feng grottos in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Even within their devotional context, the faces possess a human, almost humorous quality. The figures clutch scrolls, their chests bare beneath flowing robes, with visible ribs underscoring the physical austerity of their spiritual path.
Echoes Across Time: Rubbings and Calligraphy
Complementing the sculptures, a collection of stone rubbings, rendered in monochrome ink on paper in shades of black and vermilion red, extends the thematic exploration of these figures across a broader historical spectrum, from the 18th century to the latter half of the 20th century. These aged, often eccentric figures seem to leap from the page, their hair long, ears adorned with rings, eyebrows elongated, nails untrimmed, and canes in hand. Seated on rocks, they confront their destinies with an air of profound wisdom and humility.
This meticulous attention to ritualistic detail is a recurring motif throughout "Living Images." The careful placement of slippers on the floor, the drape of loose-fitting robes, and the posture of a seated reader are all subtle gestures understood as aids to mindfulness, guiding practitioners on the path to awakening. The artists, sculptors, and calligraphers responsible for these objects were acutely aware of their functional purpose. On display beneath protective glass is a copy of a chapter from the Great Sutra of Perfected Wisdom, a late 12th-century work from Chuson-ji, created during Japan’s Heian period. Anonymously inscribed on blue-dyed paper using gold and silver ink, its precise symmetry invites close examination and contemplation.
The Preciousness of Human Birth and the Stakes of Practice
Throughout "Living Images," the recurring motif of the human figure serves as a potent reminder of the Buddhist teaching that human birth is exceptionally rare and precious—the sole condition under which liberation is attainable. This message is perhaps most vividly conveyed in a hanging scroll depicting Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha and the Ten Kings of Hell. This 1764 work from Korea’s Joseon dynasty, painted in ink and color on hemp and coarse silk by an anonymous artist, places Kshitigarbha at the center, surrounded by a dense assembly of attendant figures and judges. The theme of judgment is rendered in explicitly human terms, underscoring that the stakes of spiritual practice are inextricably linked to the human existence that makes such practice possible. This idea is further explored in an Edo-period representation of Hariti, the Mother of Demons, presented in both wood sculpture and hanging scroll form.
The Ever-Present Cycle: From Creation to Worship
The exhibition’s concluding works subtly guide the viewer back to its inception. The final gallery is dedicated to the Bulbokjang Jakbeop ceremony, a practice that encapsulates the exhibition’s central argument: that in the traditions explored by "Living Images," an object is never truly finished upon its creation. Instead, it attains its full identity through its active engagement—through consecration, offering, and worship. Petra Rösch’s curatorial approach masterfully builds this case, gallery by gallery, demonstrating that this dynamic life cycle is not an anomaly but the very essence of the art on display. The exhibition successfully challenges the Western-centric notion of art as a static aesthetic object, revealing instead a profound continuum where creation, ritual, and devotion are inextricably intertwined.
