By Gretchen Keiser

A photographic exhibit that includes more than 100 studies of the Shroud of Turin will be coming to Atlanta in November because of the cooperation of those interested in the Shroud and those concerned about the city.

The exhibit, which has over 150 photographs taken by photographers from California's Brooks Institute of Photography, will be shown beginning Nov. 2 at the Peachtree Center in downtown Atlanta in space formerly occupied by Brentano's book store.

The space was donated by Peachtree Center Management Co. after original plans to bring the exhibit to Atlanta and show it at the Fox's Egyptian Ballroom fell through.

Bringing the exhibit to Atlanta has long been a dream of those connected with The Atlanta Center for the Continuing Study of the Shroud of Turn, an ecumenical center located in the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in southwest Atlanta. Episcopal Pastor Father Kim Dreisbach, who heads the center, had the exhibit lined up for the Fox, only to see plans collapse when the Chicago-based exhibitor decided not to proceed with a planned world tour of the Shroud of Turin Exhibition.

However, that disappointment has turned into the basis for a larger dream: that the exhibit will stay in Atlanta permanently, purchased through the donations of those who view it during its stay at the Peachtree Center of November through January 31, 1983.

Te exhibit was "originally intended to go around the world," Father Dreisbach said. When exhibitor John Sturm decided not to take the exhibit on tour, he offered the exhibit to the Atlanta Center for the Continuing Study of the Shroud of Turin. This is an "opportunity to acquire it for permanent exhibition with the hope that someday our city might become the ecumenical center for the study of the Shroud in the United States," Father Dreisbach said.

The Shroud of Turin is a 14-foot long linen burial cloth, which bears the image of a crucified man, and has long believed by some to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. For the last 300 years, the ivory cloth has been kept in the Cathedral in Turin, Italy and made available for public display only rarely. In 1978 an unprecedented event occurred when a team of American and Italian scientists was permitted to conduct a series of nondestructive tests on the cloth, using contemporary technology, much of it designed for America's space program, to look at virtually every aspect of the Shroud and its mysterious image.

The Brooks Institute of Photography had a team of three people working with the scientists and studying the Shroud and their work. The Shroud of Turin Exhibit, subtitled Contemporary Insights Into An Ancient Paradox, includes over 150 photographs, many of which are backlighted transparencies, Father Dreisbach said. One transparency is a full length rendition of the Shroud which actually permits the viewer to see more detail than if one had visited Turin during the public exhibition of the Shroud in 1978, he said.

The exhibit also includes the table used by the scientists to study the Shroud and a replica of the Turin cloth. A three dimensional "sculpture" of the figure of the man of the Shroud is also a part of the exhibit. The "sculpture" was created by computations from a VP-8 image analyzer, which was used in America's space program to create three-dimensional representations from photographs.

The 1978 scientific study of the Shroud renewed an expanded interest in the burial cloth since each attempt to show that the image was in some way fraudulently placed upon the cloth has failed. The image has many mysterious qualities, including the fact that it is a photographic negative, emerging in greater detail when seen as a negative rather than as a positive image. Sophisticated tests now indicate that the man's image is actually "in" the cloth fibers rather than upon the cloth itself.

The Atlanta Center for the Continuing Study of the Shroud of Turin, Inc., is made up of an ecumenical group of people interested in the Shroud. The Center sends representatives to talk to churches, parishes and other groups about the Shroud and, often, to show a film on the Shroud and the scientific studies entitles "The Silent Witness."

While Atlanta and Georgia in general have proved to be greatly interested in the topic, the exhibit has brought together a new group. After the initial exhibition plans failed, Father Dreisbach was brought in touch with Intown, Inc., a non-profit group made up of people trying to promote and develop interest in Atlanta. Through the auspices of Charles Stanley, owner of Stanley & Schenk art gallery, negotiations were opened with Peachtree Center Management Co. representative Susan Guerrero. That led to the donation of the former Brentano's space for the exhibit.

"I think it's an incredible exhibition and I think a lot of people in Georgia will want to come and see it," Stanley said. He said that negotiations were still going on with neighboring hotels to arrange special rates for those who might be coming to see the exhibit.

Prices for the exhibit itself will be kept low, and special rates will be made available for church groups, students and senior citizens. In addition, "every penny above and beyond the cost" of having the exhibit will go toward its purchase, Father Dreisbach said. He acknowledged that the firm hope that the exhibit will stay here after Jan. 31 is "stepping out on faith." However, he believes that the support is there for the dream to be realized. "My hope is that Atlanta would one day become the ecumenical center for the study of the Shroud in this country," he said.

(In order to keep costs of showing the exhibit at a minimum, volunteers will be used in many ways, including as ticket takers at the exhibit from Monday-Saturday and as tour guides. Those who would like to help either as individuals or as part of a group are asked to contact the Atlanta Center for the Continuing Study of the Shroud of Turin at 404-755-6654.)