Geoffrey P. Dunn, MD, FACS, will present "Bunbu Ryodo - a surgeon’s experience" in the third Art and Spirituality lecture at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND VIA ZOOM >>> NO REGISTRATION NECESSARY TO ATTEND IN PERSON.
Dr. Dunn's presentation will propose the opportunity for spiritual growth through the twin paths of action and contemplation. The twin path concept is derived from the Japanese, bunbu ryodo, the balance of the pen and the sword. He will discuss the principle in light of recent neurologic research and a half century’s experience with painting and surgery.
The Pucker Family Fund, Pucker Gallery, Boston, is the sponsor of a the annual Art and Spirituality speaker series that honors the Erie monastery’s late artist-in-residence Brother Thomas Bezanson and Erie Benedictine Sisters Joan Chittister and Maureen Tobin.
The 2023 lecture by Dr. Dunn will be presented onsite at the monastery in Erie, free and open to the public, and online via Zoom.
Geoffrey P. Dunn, MD, FACS, is an Emeritus member of the Department of Surgery of UPMC Hamot, and former Medical Director of the Palliative Care Consultation Service there. His surgical experience included trauma, burns, pediatrics, and cancer in this country and abroad, where he has been a visiting professor in India, Great Britain, Canada, China, and Norway. Since 1997 his work has focused on the education of surgeons nationally and internationally about the principles and practice of palliative care in the setting of serious and life-limiting illness. His current pursuits include painting and environmental service.
Painting has been an important activity in Dunn’s life ever since it was recommended it to him at age 13 by his mother when he was confined to quarters for misbehavior at school. In college, Dunn majored in religion and minored in fine arts, studying with the Dutch painter Charles Stegeman. During this time, he studied privately in Erie for several years with professional artist, Andrew Sanders.
During the late 1990s Dunn recognized a more profound purpose to painting through the inspiration and counsel of Brother Thomas, a world-renowned potter. This was the inspiration for much of his professional writing and lecturing, culminating with his pioneering work in surgical palliative care.
Dunn has had four solo exhibits at Glass Growers Gallery in Erie, PA and two solo exhibits at the Erie Insurance Group’s gallery. Additionally, he exhibited annually at the Mercyhurst University’s faculty exhibit, and twice at the juried Erie Art Museum’s Spring Show. Dr. Dunn is a member of the Northwest Pennsylvania Artists Association and in 2012, he was accepted as a non-resident artist member of the Salmagundi Art Club in New York City where he received an Honorable Mention. In September 2022, the Pucker Gallery in Boston sponsored a solo exhibit of his recent work.
REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND VIA ZOOM >>> NO REGISTRATION NECESSARY TO ATTEND IN PERSON.
Brother Thomas, a Benedictine monk and an internationally renowned ceramic artist, was invited in 1985 by then prioress Sister Joan Chittister to become artist-in-residence with the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania. He continued to create beauty in his studio in Erie until his death in August 2007.
A master of complex glazes and purity of form, Brother Thomas’s works are in numerous galleries and museums, and are included in over 80 international collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
“Thomas has been brother, standard-bearer of beauty, pursuer of the spiritual and holder of the heart of holiness of which monasticism speaks and which it pursues in time and out of time, in the sacred – and in the profane,” wrote Sister Joan. “Clearly, great art is a very spiritual thing. More, a great spiritual life is itself a piece of great art. It is the ultimate creativity. To Thomas God said, ‘Let there be art’ and, behold, it came to be.”
Joan Chittister is one of the most influential religious and social leaders of our time. She is a best-selling author of more than 60 books, the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality and the founder and animator of Monasteries of the Heart, an online community sharing Benedictine spirituality with contemporary seekers.
Sister Maureen Tobin, friend and sister to Brother Thomas and Sister Joan, brought a particular spark and energy to her support of both Thomas and Joan in their creative work. She provided a steady and solid keel for both. Sister Maureen, a Benedictine Sister of Erie, died in 2017.
Read more about Brother Thomas, Sister Joan and Sister Maureen.
The 2021 lecture, “Beauty, Art, Spirituality: A Study in Soul, in Spirit, in Bread and in Lilies,” was delivered by Sister Joan Chittister and is available for viewing here.
The 2022 lecture, “The Spirituality of Icons, " by Jeana Visel, OSB, is available here.
