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Visions of Buddhist Life: Photographs by Don Farber

Visions of Buddhist Life: Photographs by Don Farber

March 7, 2004 – May 30, 2004

Don Farber’s acclaimed photographs provide a spectacular view of the beauty and diversity of Buddhist communities around the world. Since 1977, Farber has taken photographs in eight Asian countries and the United States. This exhibition of forty-two images from those travels — including colorful rituals from Tibetan communities, magnificent architectural scenes, revealing portraits of spiritual leaders and ordinary practitioners, and a beautiful black-and-white series of Japanese monastic life — demonstrated a virtuosity that comes from Farber’s keen eye and intimate knowledge of Buddhism.

Exhibition in Depth

Inspired by Buddhism early in his career as a professional freelance photographer, Don Farber became a disciple of the late Vietnamese Zen master and scholar Venerable Dr. Thich Thien-An, and in 1977 began photographing at the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles. The resulting book, Taking Refuge in L.A., was published by Aperture in 1987. Thus began Farber’s ongoing, now 27-year odyssey of photographing Buddhist communities around the world.

Farber has taken photographs in eight Asian countries and the United States. ‘Visions of Buddhist Life: Photographs by Don Farber’ offers a selection of forty-two images from those journeys — including colorful rituals from Tibetan communities, magnificent architectural scenes, revealing portraits of spiritual leaders and ordinary practitioners, and a beautiful black-and-white series on Japanese monastic life.

About the Photographer:

Santa Monica-based Farber has made numerous trips to Asia to create his visual record of Buddhist life, in an effort to give people a better understanding of Buddhism and Buddhist culture. He resided in Japan for more than one year, and spent most of 1997 on a Fulbright grant in India and Nepal photographing Tibetan Buddhist life.

In 2002, the University of California Press published Visions of Buddhist Life, a retrospective of his photography, and a new book, Tibetan Buddhist Life, was issued by DK Publishing.

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