CARON SMITH (Chief Curator, Rubin Museum of Art): The Dalai Lama is a title that was given by a Mongolian chieftain to a Tibetan who had served as a religious teacher. This exhibition focuses on the 14th Dalai Lama. And the notion of Dalai Lama -- Lama means "teacher;" but the Dalai Lama was the teacher whose wisdom is as wide as the ocean.
The Dalai Lama, you know, in this sense, is standing for values that are espoused broadly and represented through these artists. And they include, I think, primarily this notion of peace, hence the title "The Missing Peace."
When you see, in the exhibition, the picture of his shoes that an artist has used, and the shoes themselves, which are the kind you can buy at the local store, you realize that this is very much an "ordinary" extraordinary human being.
This is a man, fresh and available, who has himself, I think, done something that we would all like to be able to do with our own negative feelings. And so we look to him as a model.
MARINA ABRAMOVIC (Artist): Have you ever been in the presence of His Holiness? I think that can answer everything. If you're just close to him, you understand this incredible unconditional giving of love and positive energy.
ANDRA SAMELSON (Artist): He's unique as a politician, certainly, because he is a political figure. I think he magnetizes many, many people through his presence, which is so full of compassion for everyone. And, he is a living Buddha.
