Journal Entry 1

I recently went to the Cathedral Church of St.John the Devine. Here is my journal entry from the experience. Excuse the lack of proper terminology, I was writing quickly to get down the experience of the space. I am also experiencing this from the viewpoint of someone without a background of religious experience, having also never been to church. It is mostly about the space to me.:

the area where you, the "common people", sit is darker. It is encased in an area that is made of older, rougher stone. It has archways on the sides, but they are not windows, they are blocked up with a flat painted surface. The area where the magic happens, up where the clergy sit is smooth finished stone. It has all of the magnificence. it is where you strive to be. it is lit by the stained glass windows, by God's light, the commoner's area is lit by artificial light or candle light. there is a definite threshold, a proscenium between the two worlds. the analogy of spiritual striving.

scripted space. the hero's journey. enlightenment.

dramatizing experience.

the immensity of the ceiling is hard to grasp, dizzying. like the thought of eternity. like the thought of universal truth, universal plan.

red ropes.

dark wood.

just out of reach. I want to strive for these unreachable spots.

I am down here, stuck. but, I want to be up in the immensity of the vaults. to see better up there. to see up there.

this structure is man-made, i know it is man-made. it is just as much about our power as that of the devine.

the silence is soothing. the silence is important. there is so much space that anything said in here gets echoed and swallowed up. power and futility.

everything in here is a journey.

"three acts in one second"

pointing up.

you can't see every thing at once = can't grasp the complexity of it all.

you are always approaching.

the dome is God. Its presence unavoidable. you can see glimpses of it from all around the area that wraps around behind the high alter.

Triumphant Return

Usually, when I go this long without posting, it's because I've not had time to work. However, this time it is because I have been working feverishly. I just ran a gauntlet of productivity, concentration, and creative presence that I haven't had since grad school. Below are some of the results. Yes, I finally finished those two installations. In addition, I worked up about 12 ideas for new installations, which I will be exploring as I perfect the piece that will be going up for my show in October. I also finished reading Societas Raffello Sanzio's book, Cormic McCarthy's "Blood Meridian," and am also almost done with "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitskin. I'll post images of some of my ideas soon. For now, take a look at these:




The title of the above piece is "The most vast and impressive room in the Great Palace, Moscow" I have stereoscopic images of this one.

The title of the above piece is "Four Seasons Hotel, Gresham Palace." Stereoscope in production.

Some nice things happen when I begin to paint over the pieces.

Here is a little teaser of what I'm working on now. I probably wont post images of the installation that I'm working on for the show until it goes up on Oct. 18.