Journal Entry # 11

In this project, the theme was to show some sort of array denoting a collection of some sorts. Whether it were pages in a book with a theme or motion, a polyptych or photo series, all were acceptable formats so long as they portrayed some kind of collection. For my personal interest, I was immediately curious about polyptychs. Some of the examples shown in class in the power point presentations showed 3 panels, or frames with photographs on them and description. The one I remembered in particular was about blindness. It showed an empty room with a wooden floor, a portrait of an actual blind man, and a photo of a woman with her hair slung down in front of her face, covering it. Next to the three images was a description of the piece. In a sense it was a collection of feelings, real and imaginary about the perception of blindness. The empty room was the unknown, and the unawareness of the detail around. The real blind man was a sense of reality, a concrete example of the commonality of the subject. The woman, hiding behind her hair, perhaps demonstrated the frustration and emotion involved. I did some further research on the internet, and came across religious triptychs. I remember as a little boy going to church, and behind where the altar stood, there would be these intricately carved wooden panels to house it. They would be painted with all kinds of religious. Then after browsing some of my photographs to think of ideas, I came upon some photos I took at St-Joseph oratory. I decided to make my own collection themed polyptych. The title I gave it was “Modern Gods”. There was something eerily strange about the way some of the saint’s statues were displayed at the oratory. Blue lights coming from a hole in the ceiling, rings, platforms, and little red candle holders. It seemed almost extra-terrestrial to me. I wanted to emphasis this theme as if the “Gods” were modern religious prophets or something, and depict them as if they had arrived in the future. I made 4 panels, all shaped like tombstones to imply that the idea of future modern religion will inevitably fail and die. The second image shows the crucifix of Christ at the basilica of the oratory. Just the size and creepy background art in that photo makes it look like a still from the movie “Aliens 2”. The third panel goes on to show a double exposure photo I took in an alleyway in a street nearby. The result produced a sort of cross in the sky. Perhaps this new “cross” which looks less perfect in symmetry is a sort of apparition from the sky. It is a denouncement, seen from a lower-level perspective of an alley. The final panel shows another saintly figure on top of a pyramid of candles. As the candles are light, the future remains uncertain. Perhaps for some of those faithful to these religious there is still much hope. I took all four photographs myself, scanned the negatives, and had some prints enlarged to 12” x 18”. I then used photo adhesive spray to glue them to 4 foam-core panels. I cut the second panel in the shape of the arch, and decided to use this as the final shape for the rest as well. I proceeded to tape up the sides with electric tape for a cleaner finish. To bind them, I used thumb tacks in the sides of the panels and small ball magnets to act as the hinges.