A display of sublime religious devotion makes an appearance in NIU galleries located in Altgeld Hall.

The NIU Art Museum welcomes its new exhibition, Belief Made Tangible: Aspects of Buddhism manifested through sculpture, textiles, tattoos and household objects.

With the assistance of many graduate students from NIU’s art department, Catherine Raymond, exhibition curator and director of the Center for Burma Studies, and exhibition director Jo Burke, assembled this collection into existence. The exhibition, originally said to premier on Sept. 16, is now available for viewing in the South Galleries of Altgeld Hall.

“The purpose of this presentation is to represent the indigenous people outside of Burma expressing their religious beliefs in a tangible manner,” Raymond said.

Belief Made Tangible, offered in conjunction with the International Burma Conference, is an exhibit with nearly 2,000 pieces in its collection.

A recent press release from the NIU Center for Burma Studies stated the exhibit is “comprised solely of pieces from the NIU Burma Collections,” and “explores the process and the products of the sacred as issuing from the imagination, thence materially transformed and solidified.”

Approximately 25-30 collectors have donated their pieces to this exhibition. Much of the art seen here once belonged to diplomats before the 15th and 17th centuries, Raymond said.

Rachel Walters, an art history graduate student, explained an underlying theme in the artwork presented.

“In Buddhist history, elephants are sacred because they are a symbol of power. Decorative trunks were often given to diplomats in the 19th century as a tribute to royalty,” Walters said. “A lot of the work seen here also represents devotion and protection of the Buddha.”

As the Burma Studies department at NIU is the only one in the world, the NIU community is privileged to encounter such delicacies found in this collection, Raymond said.

A reception for the gallery will be held in Altgeld Hall, South Galleries Thursday, Sept. 18, from 4:30-7 p.m. Additional gallery talks with Catherine Raymond will take place Nov. 15 from 2-3 p.m. and Nov. 20 from 5-6 p.m. For more information visit the NIU museum Web site at http://www.niu.edu/artmuseum.