Monastery,Seminary,Public Event

Photography exhibit: "A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton"

Wednesday, August 29- Sunday, October 28
Location: Archabbey Library Gallery

An exhibit of 35 photographs by Thomas Merton from the Collections of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, will be on display in the Saint Meinrad Archabbey Library Gallery, St. Meinrad, IN, from August 29 through October 28.

The exhibit, titled “A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton,” will include a lecture on the photography by Dr. Paul Pearson, the archivist and director of the Thomas Merton Center, on Tuesday, October 23. The lecture will be held in the Newman Theater, located on the fourth floor of Newman Hall at 7:30 p.m. CDT and is free and open to the public.

Merton was a Trappist monk at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He is known for his spiritual writings, poetry and personal journals that included the spiritual journey that led him to study Eastern religions, including Zen Buddhism. Merton also explored the visual arts, specializing in drawing, calligraphy and photography.

Merton’s photography parallels Zen teaching, allowing the mind to embrace the unnoticed beauty in the world of mundane objects and the passing of light, shadow and textures through the course of a day. His photographs express the Zen perception of our immediate world as ever changing, impermanent, but with a unity of all things.

For library hours, call (812) 357-6401 or (800) 987-7311, or visit the Archabbey Library’s website: www.saintmeinrad.edu/library/hours/.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Those wishing to view the exhibit may want to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time.

Photo: Photograph by Thomas Merton. Used with permission of the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University.