Exhibit: Middlebury Institute of International Studies presents Cultures in Transition Photographs by Oliver Klink.

Oliver Klink Klink explores subtleties of people life, their spiritual guiding light. Photographs are of exotic places and people, yet they connect deeply to what it means to be human. They are about survival. They are about the Spirit, Heart, and Soul in us all.  

Location: 499 Pierce St, Monterey, California

Dates: September 11 – December 31, 2019

Click here for additional info on MIIS

Cultural Events: 

Opening Reception & Talk: Wednesday, September 11, 6:30 – 8:30PM featuring a book signing with Oliver Klink and presentation. 
(Event sponsored by the Asian Art Society of Monterey Bay (ASSMB) and MIIS.

The Asian Art Society of Monterey Bay (AASMB) in conjunction with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) presents "Cultures In Transition" on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 6:30 PM, in the MIIS Irvine Auditorium at 499 Pierce Street at the corner of Jefferson, Monterey. Join us for a free captivating Slide Show- Lecture by International Award-Winning Photographer/Author Oliver Klink. He will share his 15-year photographic project, covering 5 Asian Countries (Bhutan, Myanmar, Mongolia, China, India) and discuss the changes that people went through, the subtleties that make their lives evolve, and their spiritual guiding light. The presentation will be followed by a Book Signing of his award-winning book, with complimentary refreshments. Mr. Klink’s book won Seven 2019 Best Photography Book Awards. He won 2018 Black and White Photographer of the Year from Dodho Magazine. Free parking in the student and faculty lots. www.aasmb.com

Artist Statement:

Cultures in Transition explores the changes that people go through, the subtleties that make their life evolve, their spiritual guiding light. As a boy in Switzerland, Klink had dreams of becoming an explorer, to follow his deep curiosity and hunger to understand what makes people who they are. In 2001, he made his first trip to China with his wife and in-laws, who had left their country in the 1970’s. Their stories were riveting and became the catalyst for Klink 30 trips in the next 15 years to five Asian Countries (Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Myanmar). He photographed environmental portraits of the continuity between family, work, and spirituality. There was no separation, but peoples’ concerns about how ‘progress’ can create disconnection and alienation between themselves and their communities became more evident. This fluidity of life is at the core of Cultures in Transition.

Geir Jordahl, True North Editions publisher writes: “Klink's pictures are dreams manifest – they become representations of our past, present, and future. His photographs are of exotic places and people, yet they connect deeply to what it means to be human. They are about survival. They are about hope. They are about the Spirit, Heart, and Soul in us all.”

Anne Wilkes Tucker, Curator Emerita of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston also writes: “Both Klink and I hope that family histories and some of their traditions will travel with the younger generations as they leave the rural for the urban. Given their low incomes, it is unlikely that rural families in China have been able to document their lives with photographs or even on paper, of which there are shortages in many rural schools. Maybe Klink’s images, given to the sitters, will be used later to spark memories, just as they have for his in-laws who left China decades ago.”

“Klink’s photographs show a world that most people will never see outside of the pages of National Geographic.” David Best (Black &White Magazine)