Oreo Mandala!?!
Another night, voyaging around the internet via YouTube I stumbled on the video below. I was searching for old news coverage of Thich Quang Duc, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk who immolated himself in protest of the events leading to the Vietnam War. I have another piece in the works about that though, so back to the topic here…
There is this video of a guy who created a photographic likeness of Thich Quang Duc, hence the reason I found this video. The piece of art was created using cookies, Oreo’s to be exact. Silly? Yes. Amazing? Yes, seriously! It took roughly 20 hours and 1,887 Oreo cookies and measured 8 feet by 10 feet.
While watching the video I was struck by a thought, is this Oreo mosaic reminiscent of something deeper than that. Whether it was intended or not, there is some strikingly ironic similarities to a sand mandala. For those unfamiliar with a sand mandala, Wikipedia defines it like this…
The Sand Mandala (tib: kilkhor) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition which symbolises the transitory nature of things. As part of Buddhist canon, all things material are seen as transitory. A sand mandala is an example of this, being that once it has been built and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished, it is systematically destroyed.
I figured this post might bring about some good discussion, so hopefully you’ll comment and see how you view the video. My apologies to the person that made the video, but I wasn’t into the music so you may want to turn your speakers down while you view it. It’s only a bit over one minute long. So…
I love the idea of this, and enjoy art creations like this, but on the other hand, it smacks of conspicuous consumption (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspicuous_consumption). I was cool with it until I knew he was going to throw it in the garbage. I’m not trying to be PC here, at all – it’s just that, especially as I have delved deeper into my Buddhist studies, I’ve grown more and more uncomfortable with rampant consumerism when I know that there are many people around the world and in my own country who are hungry. Big grocery stores are starting to bug me in the same way….Ah well, just my thoughts….
You were right Dad, that is cool.
I’m a big fan of “big art” like this (see also the Domino Day event in the Netherlands, where millions of dominos are set up in huge amazing displays, only for one to be knocked and all of them to fall, creating another big display – http://www.dominodomain.com/cat/1 ), but I can’t help thinking when he puts all the Oreos into the bin – what a waste! Perhaps that’s just me being silly though, since I can’t look at an Oreo without wanting to devour it… ;)
-JB
that is so cool i cant believe it.