Black Buddha Mandala
1944
Morris Graves
born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910; died Loleta, California, 2001
At a time when Graves was deep into the study of Hindu philosophy, the Black Buddha Mandala appeared to him in a dream. He recorded that he saw two concentric circles of light against a sepia-dappled, slate-like ground. Within this luminous mandala appeared four smaller circles, one after another, which contained different stages of a plant bud as it progressed toward flowering. Finally a voice addressed itself to Graves with the words, “You see the eternal laws are working.” Then another mandala appeared at the center, and it contained the image of a seated black Buddha.
Graves recorded the vision in his painting, but afterward considered the image of the Buddha too personal to display, so he covered it with a circle of rice paper.
Tempera wih collage on paper mounted on canvas
27 3/8 x 26 3/4 in. (69.5 x 67.9 cm)
Frame: 34 1/8 x 33 1/4 x 2 in. (86.7 x 84.5 x 5.1 cm)
Gift of the Marshall and Helen Hatch Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2009.52.99
Photo: Elizabeth Mann