Architecture and Representation
A few years ago, I organized a class at Grace Episcopal Church with the goal of designing a pilgrimage window dedicated to a parishioner who had passed away. The class members set up a recipe of things in the window. Some of these were: two favorite Irish pilgrimage sites, Pennsylvania wild flowers, a large oak tree, a stone path, shoes, and a person walking down the path. Then, I drew out a design for them using these elements. In the next class setting they commented on the design. We went through five rounds until the sketch was accepted by all. My initial idea was to abstractly outline the figure and draw a map inside it as if you cut out a map in the shape of a person. My first sketch used this idea because I didn't want the person to look like anyone in particular but more as a stand-in for the viewer. No one in the group like that as the solution but understood the intention. So for the next bunch of sketches, I changed the figure again and again. Doing that opened a debate in the group. One group of people wanted to associate with the person as a stand in for themselves. The other group, who finally won, didn't want anyone to be there but wanted it to be open and ready for them to step on to the path. I created a sketch by the final class that everyone approved of. The final window was painted and built.
This distinction is important in developing imagery for sacred space committees. Some individuals in religious groups want there to be a representation of themselves in the art. Other groups prefer no representation, but want imagery of patterns or environments.
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