Word: tannings
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...Henry Tan, September 2002, suspected Chinese druglord saws through bars of his cell, then scales a three-meter perimeter wall...
...customers are very rich," he says with a smile, and tells me they are mostly bankers, doctors or industrialists. "My cheapest paintings cost $28,700". Despite his Zen leanings, Tan appreciates the good life his art has provided for him. He drives a trendy Mini Cooper in a country where vehicle-registration costs and taxes drive the price for that model up to $69,000, and he dines at Au Jardin, where the famous D?gustation menu comes with a bill for more than $80. Tan acknowledges he is a big spender: "Buddhism is not against making money; it's against...
...Tan's eclecticism?if he is like the Buddha, then he is a decidedly Renaissance Siddhartha?stems from an autodidact's caprice. As an artist, he has felt his way to artistic nirvana through experimentations in brushwork, ink tones, language and the magic that happens when all three are harmoniously combined. He graduated with a degree in English literature from Singapore's Nanyang University before becoming an artist and holding his first exhibition at the city-state's National Library in 1973. He converted to Buddhism that year, and his spiritual epiphany made him give up painting for four years...
...Buddhist, Tan embodies those paradoxes inherent in this illusory, earthly life. He is a wealthy man who potters around in denim shorts and sandals and still lives in Singapore's notorious Geylang red-light district. "You see prostitutes all the time," he says before adding that he continues living there in memory of his parents, from whom he inherited the house. His daily routine is as austere as a monk's: he sleeps until 1 p.m., and when he wakes, he meditates before climbing 1,000 steps to warm up his calf muscles for his strenuous calligraphy sessions. He works...
...Tan credits both his creative and material success to his enlightenment. "Many artists in Singapore feel very stifled", he observes. "Singaporeans are materialistic; they don't read Plato or Shakespeare, they only read numbers." However, Tan doesn't feel restricted by Singapore's uncreative environment. He explains that Zen has helped him free his mind, and "when you have a free mind you can live in Singapore or a prison cell ... you can live very lavishly but you can also live in fasting." And with that, he offers to treat me to dinner at Au Jardin the next time...