"Egypt: Sands of Time" -- Photographs by Douglas Munch on Exhibition at Bernardsville Library

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present "Egypt: The Sands of Time," an exhibition of photographs by Dr. Douglas Munch on view August 2-30, 2017 in the library's Community Room. The exhibition consists of images of ancient and modern Egypt that Dr. Munch made in November and December, 2016 during his journey along the Nile River. The photographs offer viewers impressions of the simultaneously timeless and modern natures of Egypt which bring forth an enduring contrast of cultures from a land which, in 450 BCE during a visit to Egypt, the Greek historian Herodotus called “The Gift of the Nile.” Dr. Munch will host a reception on Wednesday, August 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and give two talks on ancient Egypt--the first at the reception on August 9 and the second on Tuesday, September 26 at 7:00 pm.

For more than 5,000 years beginning with the Narmer Palette (c. 3100 BCE), Egypt has given the world a storied history. The two talks will cover some of the important aspects of ancient Egyptian history and culture. The first lecture will begin with a discussion of the archeological and anthropological understanding of Egyptian pre-history (before writing) and continue through the construction of the pyramids and the great Pharaohs who built them. The second lecture will cover the prominence of the Egyptian gods and the development and use of a written language, during which audience members will learn to write their names in hieroglyphs. Each played critical roles in recorded ancient Egyptian history as we understand it today. Dr. Munch’s photographs will help to illustrate both talks.

Dr. Munch has been creating photographic images since the age of eleven when he won his first "open" contest in as a young student in Japan. Since that time, photography has been a creative outlet for him, primarily as a serious avocation. He has said about his work, "I love this medium. Our world has so much color and beauty in it. Photography helps me to enjoy that beauty and express my vision of it through photographic images that others may also enjoy.”

Over the years, Dr. Munch has won numerous contests and has published photographs in books, journals, and calendars. He has had several photographic exhibitions including a curated one-man show in New Jersey, “Colors of the World,” which featured images from ten countries and five US states. Another one-man show in Toronto, Canada, “Colors of Macedonia,” featured images of antiquity and modernity in the Republic of Macedonia, part of the former Yugoslav Republic. In 2011, he was invited to exhibit several images as part of another curated photo exhibition in New Jersey and also exhibited a number of photographs that were coordinated with a "Photoshop® Lightroom" class he taught at Calumet Photographic in Cambridge, MA. Most recently, he has been on two different expeditions with National Geographic photographers, one in Tanzania and the other in Tibet during which the photographs on display were taken.

Dr. Munch had a long career in medicine and business consulting with pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical device companies. He also worked for companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Sphinx Pharmaceuticals, and Kimberley Clark Corporation. Munch attended Villanova University, The University of California and received his doctorate in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine.

This exhibition will be on view in the library’s Community Room during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress. There is no charge to attend any of the programs. Advance sign-up is requested at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org. For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.

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Attachment: "Karnak Temple Complex, Great Obelisk of Ramses II"