Huntington, Susan L. “Early Buddhist Art and the Theory of Aniconism.” Art Journal 49, no. 4 (1990): 401-08. Accessed February 23, 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/777142 (Open access: https://www.academia.edu/25864067/Early_Buddhist_Art_and_the_Theory_of_Aniconism)
In the beginning, the article talks about how early Buddhist art depicts the presence of the Buddha or the transitions of life he endured through his absence and symbols. However, once I consider the larger conversation at hand, the theory of aniconism in early Buddhist art becomes a discourse about the views and interpretation of Buddhist doctrinal, institutional, and historical belief. Although Huntington uses visuals as a primary source for discussion, she is also debating the written and oral interpretations. She intervenes in the discourse following the archaeological evidence of figural Buddhist sculptures produced during the Kusana period (around 1st and 2nd century A.D) where their existence debunks the wide-spread prohibitions against figurative Buddhist images. She then follows the symbolic development of empty thrones, trees, wheels, and stupas; while also arguing that they are supportive elements in “portraits of sacred and worshiped sites showing the practices of pilgrimage and devotion associated with them” (pg2). I was intrigued by Huntington’s multifaceted arguments that arerooted in social and textual context. The article provides insight and visual tools to examine emblems of Buddhist devotion.
