White monks : a life in shadows

Description:	Currently living between London and Spain, Phillips began her career in unit stills and specials photography for film and theatre productions, and later trained in the United States at Kodaks legendary Centre for Creative Imaging, Maine. As a visiting lecturer for four years in computer graphics at The Royal College of Art, London and at Richmond, The American International University in London, she helped create the first teaching programs in what was then the very new world of digital imaging and image manipulation. She was the first to win membership of The British Institute of Professional Photography for her work in this area--Vamp & Tramp Booksellers website.English and Spanish text with selected quotations by Henry David Thoreau, James Thurber, Robert Browning, and others. Selected text includes lines from In Silence by Thomas MertonI thank You God for most this amazing by E. E. Cummings: and If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen. Translation by Miguel Curbelo, Las Palmas, Spain.--Vamp & Tramp Booksellers website (accessed July 11, 2018)White Monks: A Life in Shadows offers an intimate glimpse into an ancient way of life that is slowly disappearing, a testament to lives devoted to spiritual service, in extraordinary counterpoint to the modern world.The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, more commonly known as the Trappists, is a Roman Catholic contemplative enclosed order of monks and nuns that evolved from a succession of reforms to return to the true spirit of the Benedictines. Living in solitude, in an atmosphere of silence, they have chosen a life of private contemplation very rarely seen by others. Made over a period of three years, this collection of photographs gives us a sense of the mystique of monastic life, the enigmatic otherness of monks.Photographed in three monasteries in Spain: Monasterio de La Oliva in Navarra, Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña in Burgos, and Abadia San Isidro de Dueñas in Palencia.With the permission to photograph came several provisos that included, at first, showing no faces at all. Wandering around alone in public areas I was to be as inconspicuous and as sensitive as possible. If accompanied I could go to certain private quarters, but just for a few minutes, and there was to be no talking, as is the rule of the Order. The slightly clandestine nature of it was strangely liberating. At six oclock in the morning, in the winter, in the darkness of a 12th-century church, thinking you are alone, only to slowly discover that you are surrounded by twenty hooded, praying monks – it was a perfect moment of pure theatre.I realized early on that to try and demystify their way of life was pointless, and that all I could do was attempt to capture something of its atmosphere. The photographs live as a record for those who dont have the opportunity to see for themselves the life that takes place inside a monastery. It was an extraordinary privilege to work in the communities, even more so as a woman, and during my time with them my questions grew. Above all, still, who is a monk? The times in which we live make it seem all the more remarkable that someone can renounce so much to enter a monastery, abstain from such great choice. But this is a secular thought. For those who hear the call to monastic life the ultimate desire is to concentrate on their faith. Their decision holds secrets and in them lies a poetic mystery.--Artist statement from Vamp & Tramp Booksellers website (accessed July 11, 2018).I-ART: Library has 7/50signed by the artist.
Origin:	2012
Created By:	Phillips, Francesca
Publisher:	Phillips, Francesca
Source:	http://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BookArts/id/816
Collection:	Herron Library Fine Press and Book Arts Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright
Subjects:	Phillips, Francesca. Artists books--Specimens. Artists books--Spain. Monks in art. Monastic and religious life. Religion in art. Photography in art. by Ludlow Bookbinders Lambeth Cartridge Paper, 84 black and white photographs, dark brown calfskin, black linen-covered slipcase

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