Buddhist Photographer Don Farber to Lecture and Present Photos This Tuesday, Dec. 1st, at University of the West

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
Jason Kosareff
University of the West
(626) 571-8811, Ext. 311
jasonk@uwest.edu
http://www.uwest.edu

Buddhist Photographer Don Farber to Lecture and Present Photos at University of the West

ROSMEAD, CA, November 25, 2009 - The Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at University of the West is extremely honored to welcome Don Farber, the celebrated Buddhist photographer, to campus for a lecture/photo presentation this coming Tuesday, December 1^st, at 7:00 p.m. in the WASC Room on the campus of University of the West (click here for directions).

Mr. Farber and his work are described well on the back flap of one of his recent books:

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 Thich Thien-An and in 1977 embarked on a ten-year photographic study of life in a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Los Angeles. Following the publication of Taking Refuge in L.A. (1987, with text by Rick Fields and an introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh), Farber set out to photograph Buddhist life internationally and, to date, has carried out his work in eight Asian countries and the United States. His travels resulted in his critically acclaimed book Visions of Buddhist Life (California, 2002; foreword by Huston Smith) and Tibetan Buddhist Life (2003). This Fulbright scholar’s photographs have been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Asia Society in New York, have appeared in magazines such as Life and Time, and are often published in the Buddhist magazines Tricycle and Shambhala Sun. His photographs have been featured on the covers of many books, including the international best-seller The Art of Happiness (1998) by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler.

Dr. Lewis Lancaster, President Emeritus of University of the West and Emeritus Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at UC-Berkeley, has said of his work:

Farber provides us with pictures which give dignity to aspects of religion and culture that appear as a result of his careful focus and sensitivity to the energy and spirit of each event taking place before him...In his hands, the camera gives us the nuances that escape all but the most talented of artists. It is a pleasure to see the Buddhist tradition depicted in such a masterful fashion.

Mr. Farber’s other books include Portraits of Tibetan Buddhist Masters and the recently published His Holiness the Dalai Lama—a collection of his photographs of the Nobel Peace laureate taken over the span of the last thirty years. His lecture will revolve largely around the work that went into this new book.

This event is free and open to the public.

Founded in 1991 and accredited by WASC in 2006, University of the West is one of four accredited Buddhist universities in the United States. Its current enrollment is approximately 260 students. UWest is located at 1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave., Rosemead, CA 91770.