SmART Chat - Pop Goes Dali!

With a flamboyant personality that equaled his artistic skill, Salvador Dali captivated audiences worldwide with his surrealistic images. Fr. Robert Keffer, a Benedictine monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey and an artist with a special interest in 20th century art history and the surrealist movement, will examine this prolific artist’s influence on American pop culture, fashion, furniture design and advertising.

Fr. Keffer, a Benedictine monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey, is an artist with a special interest in 20th century art history and the surrealist movement. He has been involved in an in-depth study of Dali in conjunction with the Salvador Dali Museum of St. Petersburg, Florida. A native of Connellsville, he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank in Sparta, Wisconsin in 1989, made his solemn vows in 1993 and was ordained a priest in 1995. He has studied art at the former Ivy Institute of Art in Pittsburgh, the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia and with private instructors. He is the student chaplain at Seton Hill University, hospital chaplain at Excela Health Latrobe, and at Saint Vincent, has served in bereavement ministry at Our Lady of Mercy Chapel at Saint Vincent Cemetery and is assistant director of the summer retreat program.