Every moment and every event of our lives on earth plants something in our soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of invisible and visible winged seeds, so the stream of time brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in our minds and wills. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because we are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these can not spring up anywhere except in the good soil of liberty and desire. -- Paraphrasing Thomas Merton
In his book Seeds of Contemplation, Catholic theologian Thomas Merton refers to spiritual sowing. The reader is the soil in which seeds are planted, and the reader’s spiritual life and relationship with God stands for the resulting harvest. In adopting Merton’s title for this exhibition, Arturo Araujo, SJ, encouraged gallery visitors to be attentive to their own seeds of contemplation. The three installations that comprise the exhibition draw visitors’ attention in different ways:
Walking the labyrinth (Walk As If You Are Kissing the Earth With Your Feet) fostered both contemplation and enjoyment; navigating the beautiful hanging banners (Flying Seeds), visitors were immersed in an inspiring environment; concentrating on the print mural (Dancing in the Wind, Clapping Her Hands for the Birds) revealed both continuity and layers of complexity. Each installation was accompanied by thoughtful interpretive labels by GTU faculty members, demonstrating that while Arturo approaches his art from a Jesuit perspective, his work is open to all.