マイトレ・ラトナ・シャキャ

アートディレクター／仏像制作者

 

私の曾祖父、祖父は仏像やジュエリーを作っていた。父も１８才の時、技術を学ぶためチベットに行き、数年をそこで装飾工芸家として過ごした。中国侵攻があり、ネパールに戻り、制作過程でロウを使った真鍮の仏像を作りだした。手彫りや金箔もした。父の作品は大変人気があり、たくさんの注文に対応するために、大勢の弟子を訓練した。私は７才か８才だった。のちに祖父や父から仏像を彫刻するテクニックや、道具を作ることを学んだ。大事な事は、現在でもすべての制作のための道具を毎回作っていることだ。父が制作に取り組んでいる間、２０才の私は一族の伝統を受け継いでいくことと外国との商談のため、国外を旅行した。それは異なるアジアの文化を学ぶことになり、我々の作り出すものの質を向上させて芸術の域まで高めることにもなった。顧客の理解を得ることになり、我々の作品が広まることになった。ネワールの芸術の歴史を通じて、現代はその職人技は注目すべき進歩を遂げている。今最優先にするのは次世代のために原型となる我々の作品を保存することである。

 

Maitree Ratna Shakya

Art Director & Manufacturer

 

My great grandfather and grandfather were artists, and they mostly created metal Buddhist figures and designed and crafted gold and silver jewelry. My father was an artist too, and to expand the skills, traveled to Tibet around the age of 18 and spent few years there working as a jewelry craftsman. The Chinese occupation in Tibet forced him to return to Nepal, where he later began working on copper statues using the lost-wax process of casting. He also hand-carved some statues and even gold-plated them himself. The growing demand for my father’s sculpture required him to train others in his craft to work alongside him. At that time,I was around 7 or 8. My grandfather and father inspired me to learn the techniques of carving statues and making the tools that are required for the process. It is important to note that we still make all the tools used in carving our statues today. Since my father was very occupied in the manufacturing process, I felt I have to support him and our family heritage by monitoring the production line and marketing. At the age of 20, I began to travel to merchandise our products overseas. This gave me the opportunity to study the art of different Asian cultures and enable me to corporate the knowledge and efforts into sculpture we produce, to make it a work of art. This has helped us to attain customer appreciation and further spread our craftwork. I feel that through the history of Newari art, the present era marks a notable improvement in the quality of our craftsmanship. I feel it is of the utmost importance to preserve our crafts by creating a source of inspiration for the next generation.