“Envisioning Ecstasy”
A Photographic Exhibit at Tibet House US in NYC
by Photographers Cira Crowell & Christopher Michel
May 20 – June 26

OPENING RECEPTION: Tibet House, Wednesday, May 20, 2015, 6-8 pm
On view: May 20 – June 26, 2015

Julay Everyone!

I hope the brilliant full moon brought you many blessings and the Kalachakra initiation continues to manifest wisdom in your life.

Our experience in Ladakh was a whirl of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, revelations and teachings from the physical to the phenomenal.

During the journey, I photographed merely as a way of honoring the pilgrimage and returned home to find an accumulation of images to share. When I saw the stunning black and white photographs made by Chris Michel I was inspired to suggest a collaborative show of luminous black and white images of Ladakh during the Kalachakra from two perspectives.

The show is scheduled to open in the beautiful Tibet House Gallery May 20th and will consist of approximately 40 17×22” photographic prints (20 each) and 10 40×80” conceptual photographic prints (lumenography) of illustrations sketched during the Kalachakra ceremony.

All sales will be contributed to Tibet House.

Hope you can join the opening celebration or stop by Tibet House to view the images while the show is hanging until June 26. If you are planning to attend please let me know so we can include you in the dinner plans following the opening.

Love and Light,
Cira Crowell
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Envisioning Ecstasy features documentary and conceptual imagery expressing the kaleidoscopic experience of the Kalachakra Initiation and the complexity of life in remote Ladakh, India. The root of the word ecstasy, ek- “out,” and stasis “stand,” conveys the simultaneous outer and inner visions of the two photographers, mirroring the transcendent nature of the Kalachakra teachings. The treasured Kalachakra, “Wheel of Time,” teachings are a once secretive ritual that traditionally brought wisdom to mythical Shambhala and continue to be of great benefit to Tibetans and the world today. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama bestowed the 33rd Kalachakra Initiation in Ladakh, India in July 2014.

Cira Crowell (MA Savannah College of Art and Design) uses photography, illustration and animation to explore the phenomena of visible and intrinsic light. Her travels include Iceland, India, Bhutan, Japan and she recently completed a 200 mile medical trek in remote Himalayan Nepal. Cira received Jukai in 2010 and is a chaplaincy candidate at Upaya Zen Center. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and recently enjoyed a successful solo show at the Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica. She lives in Los Angeles and Santa Fe.

Christopher Michel (MBA Harvard) photographs extreme locations like the South Pole, Everest, The Korean DMZ, Papua New Guinea, and the edge of space (aboard a U-2 spy plane). He has photographed a variety of global leaders, including the 14th Dalai Lama. His prolific work is featured regularly in print, online and was most recently on display at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art near Copenhagen. Chris is the editor at Explorers, travels extensively and lives in San Francisco.