For the third week of The Rubin Daily Offering, meditation teacher and sustainability coach Kate Johnson joins the Rubin’s Chief Experience Officer Jamie Lawyer to explore how the gestures, mudras, and postures seen in artworks at the Rubin Museum can inspire us to be present in our bodies during challenging times.
In the first episode of the week, Jamie Lawyer introduces us to a beautiful painting of Buddha Shakyamuni. Then Kate Johnson leads a meditation to explore how the earth element can inspire us to feel more grounded in our bodies.
Buddha Shakyamuni; Amdo Province, Eastern Tibet; 16th century; Pigments on cloth; 46 3/4 x 36 3/4 in. (estimated); Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.1.5
Vajrasattva; Nepal; 14th century; Gilt copper alloy of multiple parts with traces of pigments; 17 1/8 × 14 × 10 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.10
Dancing Ganapati; Tibet; 17th century; Gilt copper alloy with pigments and turquoise inlays; 9 1/2 × 6 1/4 × 3 3/8 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.25
Kate Johnson works at the intersections of spiritual practice, social action, and creativity. She has been practicing Buddhist meditation in the Western Insight/Theravada tradition since her early twenties and is empowered to teach through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She holds a BFA in dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University, and MA in performance studies from NYU.
Kate is a core faculty member of MIT’s Presencing Institute, and has trained hundreds of leaders and change-makers in using Social Presencing Theater, a mindfulness and dance improvisation methodology used to inform strategic planning and systems change in our complex world.
Jamie Lawyer is the chief experience officer at the Rubin Museum of Art. She previously served as the head of interpretation, digital learning, and evaluation for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
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