A large photograph displays a pair of simple brown shoes emitting a bright yellow glow. On the opposite wall, a painting of a serious girl with red hair follows you with her striking blue eyes.

On first glance, these works seem to have nothing in common, but they were both created in response to the same question: How does an artist consider the Dalai Lama?

The photograph, by the Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury, seeks to capture the aura of the Dalai Lama through his shoes, while the painting, by Spanish-born Salustiano, portrays the Dalai Lama in his next incarnation as a young child.

The “Missing Peace” exhibit, a traveling collection curated by Randy Jayne Rosenberg from Oakland, California, presents a range of interpretations of the Dalai Lama by 82 artists from 25 countries. The artists contributed using a wide variety of media, and a selection of two-dimensional works are on display now at Emory’s Visual Arts Center until Oct. 27th. The exhibit celebrates the installation of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama as an Emory University Distinguished Professor and his upcoming visit to Emory from Oct. 20th to 22nd.

According to the Program and Gallery Coordinator Mary Catherine Johnson, about 250 people attended the opening on Saturday. Despite the crowds, the calm atmosphere of the exhibit encouraged peaceful contemplation about the artwork and the man who inspired it. The Dalai Lama is more than a religious leader; he is also a statesman, philosopher, politician and peacemaker.

The artists have reflected on many of these roles and have taken a deeper look into what the Dalai Lama symbolizes to humanity. The works of art range from photographs of the Dalai Lama himself, to abstract depictions of Buddhist ideas and beliefs, to powerful anti-war statements and memorials to victims of persecution from South Africa to Cambodia.

One of the more striking pieces is a series of three black and white photographs by Vietnamese-born Tri Huu Luu. Each photograph is a close up of the back of the head of an Asian monk or nun. The photographs are impersonal — we cannot see the subjects’ faces, and it is impossible to tell whether they are men or women. However, they are also strangely intimate. In the caption, Luu explains, “I wanted to show the ultimate truth that we are essentially all the same and therefore should not judge others by our differences.”

Another memorable piece is American artist Pat Steir’s etching of a waterfall. Using calm grays and blues and energetic flecks of white paint, Steir evokes a stillness and peace amidst furious motion. The print is a meditation on the beauty and impermanence of nature.

In the beginning of the exhibit, a caption quotes the curator Randy Jayne Rosenberg: “The goal [of the exhibit] is not one of hero worship or political rhetoric. It is not about the fight for Tibetan freedom. And it is not how we can become the Dalai Lama, or walk in his footsteps. Rather, the exhibition shows how we can walk alongside the Dalai Lama…and how our stories can interweave with his story…becoming a new story of human consciousness.”

The “Missing Peace” exhibit does not give a clear understanding of who exactly the man is behind it all. But then again, it is not supposed to. Rather, the exhibit seeks to tap into the deep root of human experience to explore the interdependence of all things, the power of spirituality and the desire for peace and love. It is a dedication to the man who represents and inspires all of these things and a call for viewers to reflect on and try to improve our own lives and those of others.

— Contact Lucy Blau at leblau@learnlink.emory.edu