Art of Dashi Namdakov To understand such a striking phenomenon as the art of a Buryat sculptor Dashi Namdakov, who entered the art world to instant fame and utter success after his first solo show in a Siberian city of Irkutsk in 2000 and subsequently in Moscow, St.Petersburg and other cities in Germany, USA, Mongolia and Switzerland, etc., one is take into account several, at least two, aspects. First of all, this is a talented contemporary artist who has been trained in the best traditions of the classical Russian sculpture school. This is the artist who employs the sculptural plasticity to create unique artpieces permeated with the spirit of Buddhist, or rather, Lamaist images and topics (inherent to the peoples of Tibet, Mongolia and Buryatia) also absorbed with mythological notions of shamanism, of Siberian Turkic peoples, of the Buryat heroic epos, fairy tales and the ancient art of China and Japan. Secondly, this is a phenomenon of the present-day culture which sensitively and objectively reacts to the recently emerged interest towards the East, other spiritual world, mysterious to the western perception, thrilling and captivating. From this point of view the public recognition of Dashi’s art is the evidence of this enormous interest. It’s worth noting that one of the major reasons of this phenomenon is the broad dissemenation of the visual information in the second half of the XX century, first of all, due to the television, then the world wide web, and as a consequence, the universal expansion of the visual concept of the world, attraction to something new and extraordinary, as well as to the esoteric knowledge. In this context the strong interest towards Buddhism needs no explanation, but this particular enthusiasm towards Buddhism is not accidental. The Buddhist mythology is one of the most rich and diverse in the world culture history. Its ability for systematic expanding and enrichment have made it one of the most popular world mythologies. The aspiration towards creating new images and topics is the very tradition of Buddhism. In this regard it’s clear why the mysterious images of Dashi’s art attract the audience in many countries. Yet it is not correct to consider Dashi a Buddhist sculptor. The world of his images is the figment of the rich imagination and refined fancy, but the artist remains true to his nation, his culture, his beliefs, his Land, Taiga and Lake Baikal. Dashi Namdakov is a myth maker. The whimsical world that he created is traditional by its roots, but at the same time it is very modern by its world outlook and mentality. Now mythology provokes an ever-growing interest as a great heritage of the human civilisation and as an inseparable part of the present-day social and cultural wealth. The modern culture at a broader scale accepts medieval mythological images as a way of world outlook. Another significant phenomenon that emerged in modern culture is the genre of fantasy that became popular in literature, then cinema and television. Fantasy is not just traditional science fiction or just a popular trend. It it rooted in deep interest in mythology, folklore study and history of religion. The pioneer of this trend was an English writer, philologist J. Tolkien that invented an intricate imaginary world that thrills and bewitches with its reality. Tolkien had a profound knowledge of the Celtic mythology, Irish sagas and Welsh legends. The Buddhist mythology can obviously be a deep and inexhaustible source of inspiration. It is therefore logic to regard Dashi’s sculpture as something closely related to the phenomenon of the fantasy genre but as its expressive equivalent in plasticity. The world that the artist invented or may have dreamed about is convincing to details. The warriors in their fantastic armour entirely suggested by the author and worked out with jewelry precision look authentic. The accessories of the intimidating mysterious shamans seem true. The image presentation of wise astrologers is astonishingly diverse; lamas immersed in inner life and contemplation seek the enlightenment (“Lamas”, “Ritual”) or acheive the highest possible state of perfection (“The Enlightened”). The world Dashi Namdakov is creating in, is all-sufficient and single. It is characterized by the mythologization of real life which is inherent to Tibetan and Burayt Buddhism. This world is “densely populated” by various meditating or actively functioning characters including zoomorphic creatures which are typical of the Buddhist pantheon with the favourite horse, ox, elephant. These are the most animated and real animals inspite of their fairy like essence. It is exciting yet stirring to meet the enigmatic and fantastical world of Dashi Namdakov. What do these sturdy and sure-footed creatures hide? Secret power or mysterios threat? When studying them closely you catch yourself at admiring the sculptures, their thought-out design, clear silhouette, organic decorativeness, exquisite jewelry workup of the surface, the author’s perfect sense of the material and subtle irony. The images from the dreams that come, the sculptor says, “when consciousness is in the borderline state between the real world and the world inhabited by illusions and spirits”, the play of imagination and mind, the evident theatricality, thought out details and scrupulously worked out images of the characters (Dashi’s drawings are independent significant works), successful pursuit of professional jewelry business which is felt in his sculpture, the plastic school and perfect craftsmanship acquired early in childhood - these are -all together with genuine devotion to the Eastern culture and keeping up with contemporaneity - the components of the outstanding and original art of Dashi Namdakov. Ludmila V. Martz Head of Department of Sculpture of the XX century The State Museum “The State Tretyakov Gallery”