Shrine, Temple, Sanctuary...

I am having a debacle of wording.

Thank you Nate and Flyawaynet for your comments on the last post. Even the nitpicky ones help. Actually, I especially like nitpicky comments, Flywayanet; being out of school opens up a whole new set of possibilities, but I loose the commentary of the other students on my work. I am very much a perfectionist when it comes to making art, and so I like it when people really tell me exactly what they think, or get into little details.

So I have another question to pose:

When I was driving the other night through the woods with a friend of mine, I was watching the landscape go by and admiring it. The word 'shrine' suddenly popped into my head. I have always been sort of fascinated by old forms of functional art; religious or otherwise, and the idea of a shrine suddenly slunk its nearly obselete way into my consciousness. In Mexico there are little shrines everywhere. To different saints or places people died on the side of the highway. At this moment, I was thinking of a shrine as a place in which to engage deeply and spiritually with something; with one's surroundings, with God. But Shrines tend to be dedicated to a particular figure. so then I thought of Temple. Temples are built in almost all religions in some form. Bhuddist monks live in them. Cathedral or church are really just other words for Temple. And I think that what all of these different Temples have in common, across the globe, is that they are places that people go to actively engage with the invisible, or with the eternal within the visible.

So the reason I am bringing this up is this; I have been interested for a long time in making pieces of art that are spaces into which people can go and engage with such abstract realities; much in the way that a beautiful cathedral or a Zen rock garden can offer a space which puts everyday worries and fears into the perspective of the infinite, or or shows us the infinite within the everyday. Spaces like these can be calming, exiting, enlightening, gratifying, uplifting, restful, communal... what I mean to say is spaces from which we can see things in a broader perspective. See what really matters, and value it for what it is. I don't want to make overtly religious pieces, as I don't feel that that is really my place. That would border on instruction, which is important, but I don't think is my forte. But a place where someone could possibly go to engage for themselves, and find value in that.

The previous post is a description of such a place that I am hoping to build. The word that I finally came up with for how to describe these spaces is 'sanctuary.' It seems to be closer than any other description thus far. In medieval times, people were safe from arrest in the sanctuary of a church. And in modern times, there has been a Sanctuary movement among some southwestern churches to hide illegal immigrants running from the INS. But the simplest definition of Sanctuary is "a safe place." Not necessarily a place to engage. Although I like 'Temple,' and I don't necessarily want to eschew religious connotations entirely, (I think that there is a great deal to be said for ceremony and tradition) I also don't want to limit them by it. But I am interested in reviving these places and spaces that don't seem to be given much credence any more. The closest thing we have in our society to function in the way of the old shrines and Temples is the public park. A lovely thing, but almost too non-specific. And it almost seems like a packaging of nature; a taming and captivating of trees.

So I don't exactly know what my question is, but I would love it if anyone felt inclined to answer, or respond in any way.

Percent for Art

I would like to once again ask the input of anyone who cares to give it. I am applying for a percent for art competition to design a piece of public art at a middle school. This is my letter of intent. If anyone feels incline to praise, mock, or deeply and honestly criticize this idea, please feel free, and don't hold back. Art has much room for loud voices. I would love to hear yours.

Dear ....

In a period of transition such as adolescence, children deeply need to feel the support of their community. In addition to this, they need to feel that they are connected to and valued by each other and the wider world. We don't need a scientific study to tell us that children who have these conditions affirming them will learn better and have higher self esteem, be less likely to use drugs and more able to choose a course in life which is successful and fulfilling to them. I feel strongly that any work of art installed at the school should contribute to these factors, and that the students, in turn, should be able to directly contribute to the work of art.

What I propose to install at the new Medomak Middle School is a kind of walkway by which the students and faculty will enter the school. The walkway would have two ten foot diameter circles made of black granite installed in succession. Surrounding these circles would be concentric rings of clay tiles, carved by the students. These tiles would use the natural colors of different types of clay to create pattern. The creation of these tiles could be guided by questions such as "What is important to you?" or might be simple self portraits, or freely created works of art. This would allow the students to have their individual voices visible in the piece. They would be able to find their on tiles, and show their families how they had contributed a permanent piece of art to the grounds of the school.

Each of the two granite circles would be carved with a chart of the stars in the night sky. Each chart would correspond to the position of the stars on one of the two equinoxes, as both of these fall during the school year. This would account for both summer and winter constellations. While standing on one of these circles, a student would be able to find a star labeled on the chart and then find it in the sky in the corresponding direction.

The charts would be lit with just enough light to make them visible at night, while not creating so much light pollution as to dim the appearance of the stars. These lights would be installed in short stone cylinders, standing upright, which would also function as places to sit, creating a pleasant common area or place to wait for a ride.

Art is important to children's development. Many artist have spoken of art as the process of becoming sane, and of learning to experience one's life more fully. Writer Ursula K. LeGuin spoke of this, saying, "...I use the words "literature," "art," in the sense of "living well, living with skill, grace, energy" - like carrying a basket of bread and smelling it and eating as you go." It is this sense of connectedness, of living well, and of appreciating and supporting each other that I intend to convey with this work.

This project would give the students each an individual connection to and voice in the final product. It would also create a visual display of the connection of the students to one another and to the wider world, and the stars. It would illuminate the idea that we all affect each other and none of us is alone. As Natalie Goldberg put it, "Art lives in the Big World." Functionally, the work would create an exciting entrance to the school, a tool for learning, and a common area for students to gather and spend time together.

My intention with this work is to support the needs of the students and encourage them to contribute their voices. I feel strongly about the need to create a good environment for young people. I expect that the direction of the project will evolve to be able to support this need as well as possible, given time and new information.

Sincerely,
...Leopold

In Love 2

This is the much longer addendum to my last post, which was hastily scrawled at half past midnight.

We throw around the term "In Love," like it is the secret ingredient of our happiness. I dare say that much of our society looks forward to this phenomenon to cure them of the hum drum of the everyday: to make them happy, rightly or not. Being in love is even something we strive for (though striving hardly befits it). I have often known people who are not in Love, have no interest in being in love, and don't look forward to it. These people are seen, by and large as some kind of neo-hethens, in as much as they are not interested in what everyone is supposed to be interested in. In the movie "The Tao of Steve," the hero states that the United States should just get down to it and declare romance our national religion. As far as I can tell, nothing could be truer.

But this quote from John makes me think again about this phrase: "In Love."

"God is Love, and whoever lives in Love, lives in God and God lives in them." What does it really mean to be "In Love?" Inside; within; enraptured by; encased in - Love. We speak of Love as though it is the whirlwind we are itching to be taken to Oz by. If God is Love, then can this kind of enrapturing love be any different, if it is true? Can you be, literally, In God with someone? Such that the connection to this other person makes you feel swept away by God, and that God lives within you? That's a phenom for ya. What would that mean for both Christianity, and for romance? John also states in a nearby passage that whoever says he Loves God and hates his neighbor is a liar. So if Love of God and Love of others are so completely intertwined that they can never really be distinguished as separate in practice, then it makes perfect sense to be In God with someone. What if our daily interactions with people, were, in some sense, interactions with God? Earlier on, Jesus said "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me." This changes things quite a bit. If this were, for one instant, taken seriously, by and large, what would change? It would be impossible to think of the paradigms of loving someone the same way. If in showing your love for someone, you are practically showing your love for God, and rather than building a church which which only worships God (a good thing to do, of course), or day by day fills the world a little more with the bland recitation of inert liturgies, rather we would show our Love for God by Loving each other. Not just romantically, but every kind of love. We would no longer approach our love relationships as ways to become happy, but happiness would be the obvious side effect of Loving someone for Love's own sake. If you can be in God with someone, can you be in God with God? For God's own sake?

In Love

"God is Love. Whoever lives in Love, Lives in God, and God lives in them."

Is it possible to be "in God" with someone? Could you say to someone, "You know, I've been thinking really deeply about this, and I think I'm in God with you"? What a difference that might make.